Writer's Month 2019: Miraculous Ladybug
by Veritas Found
Summary: Ficlets written in response to the 2019 Writer's Month on Tumblr, in which: When Kitty Section plays an out of town music festival, Juleka 'forgets' to book a double when she makes Luka and Marinette share a room. (Or: OH NO THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED!)
1. Aug 2: HurtComfort

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**02 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Hurt/Comfort (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Marinette Dupain-Cheng; (Anti-)Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ So um. Yeah. Puppeteer 2. (Ugh I don't even know. I've actually been kicking this idea around for a while now, and the prompt just gave me the opportunity to sit down and hammer it out. I still may play with it more later, but given time constraint it feels rushed. Look, in the end? I just want Marinette happy. I just don't know if I really think Adrien's the one who's going to be able to do that anymore.)_

_I look through your window like I don't even know you._

_This is the way we are now._

…

_Is this what you wanted? 'Cause now you got it…_

_I'm giving up…I'm giving up…I'm giving up on you…_

"_Givin' Up" – Schuyler Fisk_

"Oh, I'm sure life has many surprises in store for you, Marinette!"

Marinette heard Tikki. She did. And maybe a part of her believed the tiny god. But…if she was honest, she wasn't so sure anymore. Life had certainly given her plenty of surprises lately, but not all of them had been good surprises. This one was possibly the worst of all.

"Yeah…" she sighed. The ripping of the photo as she pulled her hand away from the bulletin board rang loud in her ears – louder than Tikki's sharp gasp. "That would have been one very silly first kiss, anyways."

She fell back on her bed, curling onto her side. Her hand fisted around the photograph, pulling wrinkles onto Adrien's perfect face. Maybe life's biggest surprise was that Ladybug, Lady Luck herself, was doomed to forever be _un_-lucky in love.

– V –

She didn't go to school the next day.

When her mother came up to check on her, she claimed an upset stomach. She didn't really have to try and look terrible as she hadn't really slept during the night, so her mother just smiled, brushed her hair away from her forehead, and told her she'd check on her later. If she saw the crumpled photo of a certain supermodel lying on the floor, she walked right past it on her way out and didn't say a thing.

Marinette tried to ignore her phone, but after the fifth frantic text from Alya (_and_ Nino, _and_ Mylène, _and_ Rose, _and_ Juleka), she finally sent Alya a quick, one-worded reply: _sick_. She knew Alya wouldn't believe her, and she knew Alya would probably be stopping by to check on her during lunch, but at least it stopped the texts. She burrowed back under her blanket and rolled towards the wall. Adrien's smiling face beamed back at her.

She ignored the _clunk_ as she jostled the board enough to unhook it from the wall, sending it to the floor below. Tikki flew over and pressed against her cheek.

If the tears bothered the tiny kwami, she didn't say anything, either.

– V –

She woke up again well after lunch. A bowl of soup was waiting next to a plate of bread on her desk. There were three missed texts on her phone.

Alya. Saying she'd be by after school with notes and homework (and ice cream, because she was pretty sure she'd caught her _sickness_ at the wax museum).

Adrien. Saying he hoped she felt better and apologizing again for the prank.

…and Luka. Saying Juleka told him she was sick, that he hoped she felt better soon, and he'd miss her at practice that afternoon.

She smiled, and it was enough to pull her from her bed and down to her desk to enjoy the soup.

– V –

She spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning her room. The chest of presents was emptied, the items unwrapped and carefully stacked in a box for the local thrift shop. (She did hang on to the upcoming birthday present, though, as it was what she would have done for any…friend.) The added notes specific to his schedule were removed from her own. Her desktop background was changed to a photo from the day planting trees, her closest girlfriends (plus the guys, once she had pulled them away from Adrien's _party_) all smiling back at her. Alya knocked on her door as she was pulling the last of the magazine clippings from her wall.

"I _knew_ you weren't sick," Alya said, and though she tried to sound accusing she only sounded sympathetic. "Girl, what happened? What did that idiot do?"

"He's not the idiot, Alya," she sighed, looking down at her nearly-empty bulletin board. She'd left the class photo, the one of her and Alya, and the two of Kitty Section from the day at the TV station (well, _one_ of Kitty Section – the other was of her and Luka, one Alya had shared with her later). The ones of Adrien were stacked on top of the rest, in her trash bin. "I am."

"Spill," Alya ordered as she dropped her homework on the desk. So Marinette did.

She told her about her Epic Freakout, which was nowhere near as bad as her _Prank_. Alya listened in mortified horror, her eyes growing wider and wider behind her glasses with every new detail. Marinette kept her eyes trained on the class photo, the last photo of Adrien on the board. The only one she'd keep. The safest one to keep, as a _friend_.

"Ok, so that…was bad," Alya agreed when she stopped speaking. She brushed some hair behind her ear and pushed out a breath. "But it's not the end of the world? I mean, he's kind of oblivious, Marinette. It sounds like he bought that you were...pranking."

"He's in love with someone else, Alya," she sighed. Alya winced. "In the car, he said…he said the girl he loves doesn't like his jokes, either."

"I didn't know," Alya said softly. She reached out and laid her hand on Marinette's, which were resting in her lap. Marinette glanced up at her, and Alya tried to smile for her. "Girl, I promise. I didn't know. I don't think Nino even knew. If we had, I never would have encouraged you to…I'm so sorry, Marinette."

"I feel so stupid," Marinette mumbled, reaching up to rub at her eyes. Alya sighed and pulled her into a hug.

"Stop it – you're not," she said. She rubbed her back. "Lots of people fall for people who don't like them back. So Adrien loves someone else. That just means he's not the one for you. Or maybe he is, just not right now. We're only fifteen, girl."

"Don't, Alya, please," Marinette begged, pushing her face against Alya's shoulder. She was tired, if she was being honest. It wasn't the first time she had questioned her stubborn pursuit of Adrien Agreste, it wasn't the first time she had thought it best to move on, and it definitely wasn't the first time _someone_ (Tikki, Alya, even Luka…) had tried to convince her otherwise. "I can't…I don't…Adrien's a _friend_."

"Not a very good one," Alya huffed, rubbing her back a bit more forcefully in her agitation, and Marinette paused.

Wasn't he, though? She had told herself time and again that he was _perfect_: the perfect friend, the perfect student, the perfect model, the perfect gentleman, the perfect son…but was he, really? He had said it himself: he wasn't very good at this _friend_ thing. And it wasn't his fault – it was his father's, if anything, for keeping him out of social situations for so long. But that didn't change the fact that…was Adrien a good friend, really? He was polite, sure. He was kind. But…had he ever actually stood up for her? Yes, he'd called her their _Everyday Ladybug_, but then he'd kept her from calling out Lila – even when Lila had outright threatened her. He'd always sided with Chloé over her. And…how well did he know her, really? They went to school together. They hung out on occasion because their best friends were dating.

Adrien didn't know her, not really. No more than she really knew him.

Could she really call him a good friend?

"He's a friend," she finally said, shaking her head. "And maybe that's all he's ever going to be able to be."

– V –

That didn't keep her heart from doing a little jump-skip-flutter when she saw him talking with Nino on the school steps the next morning. It didn't keep the heat from rising to her cheeks when he saw her and waved, calling her name. Alya gave her an encouraging smile as she nervously laughed and waved back, and her best friend stayed by her side as she walked over to the boys.

"Marinette! Hi!" Adrien said. He turned that mega-watt smile on her, and for a moment she forgot about the box she was taking to the thrift store that afternoon. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"I…uh…yeah!" she said, laughing slightly. "Dad was uh...trying a new recipe."

Adrien and Nino shared a look, and another nervous laugh escaped Marinette.

"Between us, he should leave the curries to Mom," she said, placing a hand on her stomach. She shrugged. "I'm feeling much better now, though."

"I'm glad," Adrien said. The bell rang, and the four turned to enter the school. Adrien hung back so that he could walk beside her. Alya gave her an encouraging smile before tugging Nino ahead. "I was afraid I had upset you again. Not that I'm glad to hear you really were sick, but…I'd hate to think you skipped school because of me."

Her smile was only a little fake, if she was honest.

"Never," she said. She hated herself for lying to him, but she told herself it was best. For everyone concerned. "We're friends, Adrien."

It was easier to say it that time. His answering smile still stung, though.

– V –

After school, she packed up her box of Adrien Gifts, put the box with Kitty Section's new costumes on top, and made her way to the docks. Alya had offered to go with her (moral support), but she had politely declined.

"It's something I have to do myself," she'd said, and that was that.

She arrived at the Liberty before most of the band. Luka was on deck, picking at a bittersweet melody she'd heard him working on for a while now.

"Luka!" she called from the street, waving to catch his attention. Her heart might have jump-skip-fluttered again when he looked up, his face splitting in a grin as he saw her and waved back. "Permission to come aboard?"

"Always!" he called back. He met her at the top of the gangway and immediately reached for the boxes. "Here – let me help."

"The top one is yours," she said, and he nodded before taking it. She placed the other on the deck. "That one's donations. Where is everyone?"

"Practice isn't for another hour yet," he said. "Juls and Rose went for snacks, and Ivan had to help Mylène with something before coming. You look good, by the way."

"Th-thanks," she said. She looked to her feet when she felt her face growing warm. "Sorry about yesterday."

"No sweat," he said as he placed the box on a chair by the stage. He grinned as he pulled out one of the shirts. "Marinette, these look great! You really outdid yourself!"

"Thank you," she said. "I'm glad you like them."

"I like everything you do, Mari," he said with a chuckle, "but these really are great. You're the best, you know?"

Her smile was bittersweet as she looked back to her feet. She shrugged a little and thanked him again. He frowned when he looked back to her.

"You ok?" he asked. She laughed maybe a little too loudly and waved him off.

"Me? Yeah! I'm great!" she said quickly. "You know me – always great!"

He still didn't look convinced. He reached for her hand, and she froze when he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey. You know I'm here, right? If you need to talk?" he asked. Her smile was a little less manic when she looked back at him. She squeezed his hand in return.

"I know. Thanks, Luka," she said, "but…I really don't want to talk about it just yet, if that's ok?"

He looked sad at that, but understanding. He was always so understanding. He nodded after a moment and continued going through the costumes. She bit her lip uncertainly.

"Hey, if you've still got some time before practice…" she started, making him look up again. "That is…the thrift shop isn't too far away, and…I mean…I don't want to talk about…but I wouldn't mind the company?"

Her heart did that annoying skip-flutter-jump again at the smile he gave her.

"Sure," he said, closing the box and reaching for her hand, "I'd love to."

– V –

Later that night, Marinette rolled over in her bed and found herself staring at her new bulletin board. She had printed out her new desktop, and it was now the largest photo in her collage. She smiled when her eyes fell on Luka, his face between hers and Juleka's (his arm around her shoulders and his other hand giving his sister bunny ears), and she found herself smiling again.

It was easier to smile, with him.

Maybe that was one of life's surprises, too.


	2. Aug 4: Road Trip

**04 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Road Trip (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Adrien Agreste, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Luka Couffaine; Nino Lahiffe/Alya Césaire, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste & Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ K Plus / PG / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ Post-Hawkmoth defeat, assuming that happens towards the end of lycée/when they're older. Angsty. Somehow I had the idea of a fun, light-hearted beach/road trip in my head, and it became this._

"Hawkmoth!"

Gabriel Agreste looked up as Ladybug and Chat Noir ran out of his manor. His eyebrows furrowed over his glasses, face twisting in a defeated grimace. Officer Raincomprix's grip tightened on his arm.

"Where is the Butterfly Miraculous, Hawkmoth?" Ladybug asked. Her expression was as twisted as his own, but at her question he let a small smile slip through.

"You don't know yet, do you?" he asked. She stepped forward, livid.

"Know what?! Where did you hide it?!" she demanded. He looked back to the waiting squad car, where Nathalie was watching anxiously from the back seat. Incredible…that foolish Guardian hadn't warned them. They didn't _know_.

"You may have defeated me, Ladybug. Chat Noir," he said, chuckling lowly. "My Emilie may be lost forever. But you have not won. You have not won, Ladybug."

His laughter was growing louder, almost maniacal, as he turned back to face her.

"I had a protégé," he continued, lips twisting in a perverse grin. "A backup contingency. You may have defeated Gabriel Agreste, you miserable bug, but you have not defeated Hawkmoth! You will _never_ defeat Hawkmoth!"

Raincomprix tugged his arm, telling him enough, and shoved him into the back of the squad car. His head fell back against the seat, laughter still bubbling from his lips.

"Sir…" Nathalie whispered, glancing at the door nervously as Raincomprix made his way around the car, "Rossi…"

"She's their problem now," he chuckled, closing his eyes. "Nathalie…just tell me my son is all right."

Nathalie looked away from him, unable to answer. She had lost contact with Adrien's bodyguard during the battle, and no one had seen the young Agreste since…

"…I'm…not sure, sir," she said as Raincomprix got in and started the car. He barked at them to pipe down. "I'm not sure."

– V –

Ladybug cursed as the car drove away, throwing her yoyo against the stone landing. Chat Noir heard it clatter away, but his eyes were locked on the damaged Peacock Miraculous in his hands. He saw it, glinting up at him in the Paris sun, but he didn't _see_ it.

God, he felt so _numb_…

"I need to get that back to the Guardian," he heard Ladybug say, and his thumb brushed against the jewel. He could feel Duusu inside, sleeping. Healing.

Had his mother _actually_ used this? Had Emilie Agreste really been the bearer of the Peacock Miraculous?

And his father…his _father_…

"Chat?"

He jumped and looked up, his eyes wide and glassy. She frowned and walked over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Chaton," she said, squeezing gently, "we have to get out of here. The police are going to be locking this place up, and Adrien…"

He tensed when she said his name, but of course…she didn't know she was talking about him, did she? Of course not…no more than they had known Hawkmoth was…

"Come on," she said, and he numbly followed as she leapt into the sky. At least another two blocks passed below them before he found his voice.

"M'Lady, wait!" he called, stumbling to a stop atop a building somewhere between Master Fu's storefront and the Agreste manor. She froze, yoyo spinning beside her and ready to take her to the next building. He looked at her, desperately, and swallowed. "…wait. Please."

"Chaton?"

He had always associated the rolling of his stomach as he sped above Paris with the feeling of freedom. Today, he just felt ill.

"I…I can't do this anymore, M'Lady," he said thickly. She frowned as she walked over to him.

"What are you –?" she started, but she froze as he pulled the Peacock Miraculous out of his pocket and shoved it at her.

"Take it to Master Fu," he said. "I…I'm done, Ladybug. I can't…"

He felt like he was hyperventilating. When had his suit ever felt so tight?

"Chat, what are you going on about? Come on. We're going together," she said, laughing weakly. She looked so confused. She didn't understand. But how could she? He didn't even…why was this so hard?

"Plagg, claws in," he choked out, slamming his eyes shut as she screamed at him to stop – but it was too late. He felt the rush as his transformation dropped, but even as the sweatpants and loose tee shirt he had been wearing before Hawkmoth's final attack had commenced reappeared…they still felt too tight. His chest was constricting.

"Adrien…" he heard Ladybug gasp. She sounded as strangled as he felt.

"I can't do this anymore, M'Lady," he said, shaking his head. He removed his ring, and Plagg's protests were cut off as he was sucked back inside. He grabbed Ladybug's hands and shoved both the Peacock and Cat Miraculous into them. He looked up at her, his eyes desperate. "Please, Bugaboo. I can't…don't make me…"

She wrapped her arms around him a crushing hug.

"Take all the time you need," she whispered, pressing her face against his chest. A sob caught in his throat as his arms slipped around her. He held her like the lifeline she was. "You…I understand. But you _will_ be back."

She pulled back and placed a hand against his cheek. Tears were in her eyes, but he was pretty sure he felt them in his own, too.

"Besides…what's Ladybug without her kitty?" she asked.

She dropped him off on the sidewalk below, and as he watched her swing off into the afternoon…he wished he could believe her.

– V –

"I don't think he's coming, girl."

Marinette sighed as Alya placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Her eyes dropped from the street. She knew Alya was right. None of them had actually seen Adrien since…that hadn't stopped Nino from inviting him on their "Team Bonding Beach Day", though. News of Gabriel Agreste's arrest hadn't exactly been private, and they all knew Adrien was having a hard time processing.

It had been even worse when Marinette, after a lengthy discussion with Master Fu, had brought Alya and Nino in and disclosed the secret of her own identity. And when, after another lengthy _discussion_ with all of them (…fight, it was a fight, especially after Nino had learned his best bro was Chat Noir), they had brought Luka in to be the temporary wielder of the Cat Miraculous (it _wasn't_ a betrayal, no matter how much it felt like it).

_Temporary_, because Viperion was still needed and Adrien _would_ be back.

"I'm worried about him," she finally said. She tried not to cry as Luka walked up and wrapped his arms around her, a steady rock in the uncertainty her life had become.

"We all are, Mari," he said, kissing her cheek. "But what went down…it was big. He just needs time. He'll be back."

"And _we_ need a vacay," Alya said, poking her forehead and making her look up from Luka. A weak smile curled her lips as Alya leaned against his shoulder and reached out with her other arm, snapping a selfie. She frowned as she lowered her phone and looked back to them. "But…it is disappointing Adrien won't be joining us. Would've been nice for the whole squad to be here."

"Yo! Guys!" Nino called, waving from where he was waiting with their bags. "Train's boarding!"

– V –

The ride from Pairs to Deauville beach typically took two hours, which left a lot of time to think. Marinette sat beside the window, staring out at the scenery rolling by, as Nino and Alya laughed over something in the seats across from her. She hated that she couldn't get out of her own head enough to enjoy the company of her friends. Of her boyfriend.

Luka had always been understanding, though – especially when it came to Adrien. He was good like that. Too good.

He looked up from his book when she reached out and slipped her hand into his own. He gave her a quizzical smile, and she returned it as she squeezed his hand and said, "I'm sorry. If I haven't said it yet. None of this has been very fair to you."

"I get it, Mari," he said softly. "You've been carrying so much for so long. Adrien's not the only one who needs time, but you…you can't really run away from it, can you?"

She tried not to flinch. That wasn't very fair, even if it was true. He sighed and leaned over, kissing her cheek.

"Sorry," he said. "That wasn't…I didn't mean it like that."

"You're not wrong, though," Alya said primly. Nino tried to protest, but she cut him off with a look. "What? He's my friend, too, babe. I'm allowed to call him out on being a coward."

"He's not…he is," Nino conceded, nodding. "But…I can't really blame him. After everything, to find out your old man was…I think I'd run, too, guys."

"He's not running," Marinette said, looking back out the window. She felt a warm weight against her neck and glanced down to where Plagg had crawled into her hood, snuggling against her. He looked as miserable as she felt. He liked Luka, sure, but Luka wasn't Adrien. He missed the kid. "He's just…taking a break."

She just wished she could believe that.

– V –

The train ride typically took two hours. Unless an akuma attacked.

Gabriel Agreste had warned them, but none of them had thought the new Hawkmoth would attack so soon after his arrest. The passengers – who had thought they were finally safe, despite Ladybug's press statement that the city should remain vigilant as evil would always rise against good – went into a blind panic. It made it easy enough for four teenagers to slip away unnoticed to become four of Paris's heroes.

And the battle was…weird. Because their dynamic was the same, except that it wasn't. Somehow, nothing had changed among the heroes even though they knew each other's identities. Chat Noir – who still went by Chat Noir, even if it was clearly Viperion in Chat's suit – was still an experienced hero, and he still knew how to fight with his team. They made short work of the akuma, and after a quick _Miraculous Ladybug!_ Cure the train was back on its way to Deauville.

But it was all wrong, and when Alya and Nino made their way back to their seats Marinette lingered with Luka by the bathrooms. She clung to him, trying and failing not to cry, as he held her tight.

"I love you," she choked out, trying to focus on his warmth, the feel of his fingers running through her hair, his steady presence. "I love you, Luka, I do, but…he was my first partner. My best friend."

"I know, Mari," he said. "It's ok. I get it."

"But seeing you in his suit…" she cried, and he sighed as he pulled her closer. "How did this all get so complicated?"

"He'll be back, Mari," Luka said. He dropped a kiss against her head. "I know it. He'll be back."

And he had to believe it, because he didn't know what he'd do if he didn't.

– V –

The beach turned out to be just the distraction they all needed. Even running into Lila on the boardwalk couldn't bring down Marinette's mood once the sand hit her toes and the sound of the ocean reached her ears. Nino and Alya sprinted straight for the water as Luka and Marinette set up their blanket and umbrella, and soon they were all splashing around in the surf. Their kwamis were huddled in the picnic basket Marinette had brought along, though Wayzz kept sneaking out to play in tide pools. It was the first time in weeks Marinette remembered smiling so much or laughing so hard. It was…nice.

It was better when, hours later as they were enjoying a meal at a café on the boardwalk, a throat cleared and they all looked up to see Adrien Agreste standing there. He waved nervously, fully aware that almost every eye at the surrounding tables had landed on him.

"H-hey, guys," he said. "Sorry I'm late."

He hadn't expected Nino, Alya, or Marinette to knock their chairs over in their rush to tackle him to the ground. He also hadn't expected the blinding flash as Luka snapped a quick photo of the dogpile they had formed, or the ringing in his ears as his three closest friends bombarded him with questions.

"Knew you wouldn't bail, bro!"

"Oh my God, Agreste, you are so dead!"

"Are you sure you're up for this? I'm so happy to see you, but are you sure?"

"Where's my cheese, kid?!"

"Guys, let him breathe!" Luka laughed, grabbing Marinette and Alya and pulling them up. Plagg slipped down his collar and into the interior pocket of his shirt (where, the god was delighted to find, Adrien _had_ remembered to stash his beloved camembert).

"I…I missed the train," Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. The gesture was painfully familiar to Marinette. "And then, when the akuma attacked, the next one was delayed a bit. I…"

He looked at Marinette, his eyes softening. What the others didn't know was that she had gone to him first, before telling Alya and Nino. Before even telling Master Fu. Trusting Luka with the Cat Miraculous had been _his_ idea, not hers.

"I'm sorry," he said. She almost knocked him back to the ground when she lunged at him again. He held her tight. "When I heard…I'm so sorry I ran away, Bugaboo."

"You're here now, Chaton," she whispered in his ear. "That's all that matters."

And maybe, he supposed, it was.

He could believe it that time.


	3. Aug 5: Sound

**05 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Sound (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Tom Dupain, Chat Noir_

_**Notes:**__ S3/post-Weredad. Didn't have a lot of time today, and I swear this was going to be something silly, but my default mode is angst? Light angst. Tom is the papa Adrien deserves-angst._

Tom Dupain whistled a jaunty little tune as he shouldered open the door to the back alley, a large trash bag in each hand. Light spilled into the darkness, illuminating the dumpsters near the door, and carried with it the warm scent of rising dough. He dropped one of the bags by the dumpster and reached for the lid when a clattering sound to the side cut his whistle off short. He froze, glancing to the side, where the corner of the dumpster was still shielded by darkness.

It was probably a stray cat, or a rat. Something harmless that was attracted to the scraps in the dumpster. But this was Paris during the time of Hawkmoth, and one could never be too careful…

He dropped the trash bag next to the other one and let the dumpster lid close with a gentle _thwump_. He crept closer to the edge of the dumpster when a low moan cut him short. Ok, so not a stray cat…

"Hello?" he asked, blocking any light from the open door as he peeked around the corner. His eyes widened as they fell on an unconscious Chat Noir leaning against the alley wall, his arm clutching his stomach. _So maybe it was a stray Chat after all,_ he thought as he scooped the boy up and took him inside.

– V –

The first thing Chat Noir was aware of when he regained consciousness was the smell of bread. The aroma of fresh bread, straight from the oven, surrounded him like a warm hug. His nose twitched – as well as the ear not pressed against a pillow – as the scent pulled him further from unconsciousness. His eyes opened to a somewhat familiar living room even as his ears registered an unfamiliar whistling. He sat up with a groan, rubbing his head, and the whistling stopped.

His stomach dropped to his feet (or, well, maybe his butt, since he was sitting) when Tom Dupain suddenly appeared next to the couch, his arms folded crossly over his chest. It was a pose – and expression – he was well acquainted with from the times he'd annoyed Marinette. He gulped, claws fiddling with the blanket that had fallen to his lap.

"S-sir," he mumbled, and Tom nodded.

"Chat Noir," he said, still frowning. "Mind explaining what you were doing passed out by my dumpster?"

"I…what?" Chat asked, blinking in confusion. His eyes narrowed as he chased his thoughts, trying to remember the past few hours. They were all kind of blurry, honestly. He hadn't slept much the past few days – or eaten, he was reminded as his stomach growled. Between school, his extracurriculars, and work assignments…then he'd had patrol on top of it, and… "I'm so sorry, sir."

"Eat," Tom said, and Chat blinked as a plate with three massive croissants on it was shoved under his nose. A polite refusal was on the tip of his tongue, but then his stomach growled again and Tom's eyes narrowed. Chat mumbled an apology and thanks as he grabbed a croissant and shoved it in his mouth. "Son…you need to take better care of yourself."

Chat Noir's face turned red as he looked away, still munching on the bread.

"I…I'm sorry," he mumbled. "It's…my schedule has been a little intense the past few days, and I…I can't believe I passed out. Ladybug is going to kill me."

"I should hope so," Tom said, but then he sighed as he sat on the edge of the coffee table. He reached out and laid a comforting hand on Chat's shoulder, bringing the boy's attention back to him. "The two of you…there's so much pressure on you, and you're both so young. You need to take care of yourself. Make sure you're sleeping. Eating. She needs to be able to depend on you, just as you depend on her. If you don't take care of yourself, you can't do that."

"I'm sorry," Chat said again. Tom smiled at him and handed him the plate of croissants. This time, Chat took them.

"Marinette's with her mother at a movie for another hour or so," he said, standing with a stretch. "I still have to sweep up downstairs. I…know things ended amicably between you, but I'd still appreciate it if you were gone by the time my little girl gets home."

"Yes, sir," Chat said, wincing at the memory of Marinette's _confession _and the disastrous brunch that followed. He started to stand, as if to leave himself, when Tom laid another hand on his shoulder and pushed him back onto the couch. At his confused look, Tom smiled kindly at him.

"_After_ you eat," he said. "Can't have one of Paris's top superheroes passing out in the streets now, can we?"

Chat smiled weakly as Tom turned away, resuming his jaunty whistle as he walked back down to the bakery.


	4. Aug 6: Kids

**06 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Kids (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Alya C__é__saire, Nino Lahiffe, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Viperion_

_**Rating:**__ K Plus / PG / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ S3. This is just pure crack, y'all. I wanna play with it more later. Also I see Plagg's camembert and raise you Sass's hard boiled eggs. Marinette likes Stinky Bois. (…also, do not google 'what does the Seine smell like'. The answer is pee. All of Paris smells like pee, apparently.)_

Alya felt the painful pulse of an oncoming migraine behind her eyes. Her eyebrow fluttered as her phone buzzed _again_. It was taking all of her willpower not to check it. And, had it been any other day, she would have been all over that phone – but she had a science project due Monday, and if she didn't do well on it…well, she didn't want to think about that. The words _confiscated phone_ and _restricted wifi_ floated through her mind as she tapped her pen against her desk. Nope, she was _not_ landing herself in _that_ boat.

Another buzz, and she groaned as she picked the phone up and blindly chucked it towards her bed. Thank God for LifeCases.

She froze as a crash sounded behind her. A crash followed by screaming. And it was all much too noisy to be caused by a single, thrown phone.

She whirled around in her desk chair, and there was Carapace standing in her bedroom. Chat Noir and Viperion were tucked under his arms, one on each hip, both somehow…miniature…and scrabbling at the other, both…hissing? Oh my God, they were _hissing_ at each other! And on Carapace's back, bawling and tugging on his hood in a way that had to be choking him, was Ladybug. Among the screaming, a desperate, high-pitched beeping (a familiar beeping from _multiple_ Miraculous gems) could be heard.

"Babe," Carapace choked out as Ladybug tugged on his hood again, "_help!_"

Alya watched, helpless, as a blinding flash overtook the group.

And there was a moment. A calm, blissful moment as every superhero standing in her bedroom realized they had just been unmasked, where quiet reigned supreme and panic slowly settled in. Because, in that moment, _Adrien Agreste_ looked up as _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_ looked down, and then no one heard anything as tiny lungs began producing screams they should only be able to dream of.

Alya wondered, briefly, if she had overtaxed her poor, young mind and was simply having a too-much-schoolwork-induced fever dream. Because surely that had to be the only explanation, because there was no friggin' way her best friend was actually Ladybug, no way at all…

And then her miniature-sized friends were screaming at each other, her regular-sized boyfriend was screaming at them to _chill out already_ and at her to _help already dammit_, and a miniature-sized _Luka Couffaine_ was trying to shield three miniature-sized kwamis from the chaos, and Alya…started laughing. Cackling, actually. There was definitely a manic edge to the definite cackle bubbling up her throat.

"Babe, come on!" Nino whined. Marinette's face was turning red with her screams, and it occurred to Alya that her tiny friend was quiet possibly about to pass out. "You're better with kids than me!"

"S-sorry," Alya wheezed. She walked over and scooped up Marinette, who clung to her neck desperately.

"Adrien is Chat Noir! Adrien is Chat Noir! Alya, Alya, my life is over!" Marinette cried. Adrien flailed against Nino's hip.

"Mari hates me! Mari hates me!" Adrien was crying, and Nino groaned as he let Luka climb off him to better grasp his tiny bro. "Ninooooooo! Mari hates me!"

"Naw, lil' dude, she's nuts about you! Marinette loves you!" Nino laughed nervously, but while that seemed to quiet Adrien it only made Marinette scream louder. Alya looked down at a tugging on her shirt. Luka held up the kwamis.

"They're hungry," he said softly. He looked uncertain for a moment, then added, "…does Marinette love me, too? I love her."

Oh yeah. This had to be a fever dream.

Especially because, as Marinette kept screaming, the little black kwami started shouting for cheese. Alya sighed and patted Marinette's back.

"Ok, ok, easy, girl," she said soothingly. Marinette pressed her face against her neck and cried harder, her skin burning from the tears and screams. Alya kept patting her back and looked at Nino. "You are so lucky no one else is home right now. I'm gonna grab snacks so these guys can recharge. You…deal."

"Babe, I don't know how to deal – that's what I keep trying to tell you!" Nino cried after her as she carried Marinette towards the kitchen. Luka followed quietly behind, the kwamis still in his tiny hands as Wayzz floated by his shoulder. Nino's following cry was strangled. "I'm going to be a horrible parent!"

Alya placed Marinette on the counter and grabbed a tissue to wipe at her tears, which had thankfully subsided into tiny, whimpering hiccoughs. Her face was still scrunched and splotchy as she rubbed at her eyes.

"There, there," Alya said gently. She gave Marinette her best smile. "It's ok. You're ok. Now, tell Auntie Alya what happened."

"A-akuma," Marinette hiccoughed. "Sh-she made us babies!"

"Alya, they're really hungry," Luka said, tugging on her shirt again. "Do you have any eggs?"

"…what," Alya didn't so much ask as said, flatly, as she looked down at him. The red kwami had snuggled up against Marinette while the black one continued to harp about cheese, and Wayzz had sat patiently beside Marinette to wait for food. Luka held up his own kwami, a tiny little snake.

"He likes eggs," Luka said. He climbed up the stool beside the counter and sat down next to Marinette. The little snake nestled in his hood as he wrapped his arms around her. "It's ok, Marinette."

"It's not!" Marinette sniffled. "No one's supposed to know I'm Ladybug!"

"But I knew," he said. "Your songs are the same."

Alya wondered in what world that was supposed to make sense, but it seemed to mollify Marinette. She rubbed at her eyes again.

"B-but you're not supposed to," she said. "And I'm not supposed to know who Chat is. And Adrien isn't supposed to be Chat!"

Luka looked sad at that, but he didn't say anything.

"CHEESE!"

They all jumped as the tiny black cat flew up between them and continued screaming.

"You all needed to know anyway and Fu's dumb for keeping secrets so give me cheese RIGHT! NOW!" he continued. The red kwami zipped over to him and began hitting him.

"Plagg, you're such a stinky sock! Marinette is upset! Be nice!" the tiny(-er) god scolded, but the cat – Plagg – only scoffed.

"She's always upset, and I'm hungry!" he whined. He flew up to Alya and began poking her nose. "Give! Me! Cheese! Now!"

"Ok, ok – hold on! Oh my God, just chill!" Alya huffed. She glanced at the kwamis. "So cheese and eggs – gross, by the way – and –"

"Camembert!" Plagg shouted. "Ca-mem-bert! Ca-mem-bert! Not just _cheese_!"

Alya was sorely tempted to flick him.

"So…camembert, right, I think we have that…and eggs," she said, nodding towards the snake.

"Boiled, please?" it asked, its tongue flicking out. Luka reached up and scratched its head, grinning. Alya nodded.

"Ok, _boiled_ eggs and camembert," she said. She sighed and poked Marinette's stomach. "Girl, we gotta talk about your taste in guys and how they smell."

"Adrien smells like stinky socks!" Marinette and her kwami cheered.

"Plagg smells like stinky socks! I just smell like Plagg!" Adrien shouted as he ran into the room with Nino. Marinette stuck her tongue out at him and grinned at Luka.

"Luka smells like the Seine!" she giggled. Luka grinned back at her, his own cheeks tinting pink. Alya tried not to roll her eyes, because really, which was better: stinky cheese or pollution? She sighed and poked at the red kwami.

"I know Wayzz likes crackers, but what about you?" she asked. Big purple eyes beamed up at her.

"Cookies!" she chirped, and Alya had to laugh. _Of course._

"You are handling this so well," Nino sighed as he walked up. He dug a cracker out of his pocket and handed it to Wayzz, who happily started munching.

"NO FAIR I WANT CHEESE NOW TOO!" Plagg screamed, and Adrien jumped up to snatch him from the air. He wordlessly handed him a hunk of slightly-squished cheese he produced from a pocket, and even though the wedge was twice his size Plagg still scarfed it down in one bite. He glared at Adrien. "More!"

"…wow," Alya said, blinking at the display. She was kind of horrified when Adrien produced another piece of cheese. That one disappeared just as quick. She looked back to Nino. "No, I'm really not. My best friend is Ladybug. Your best friend is Chat Noir. Luka's our new teammate. And they're all five years old and sitting on my counter."

Because, of course, Adrien had scrambled up the stool to claim Marinette's other side. Luka and Adrien were hissing at each other again. Alya was reminded of Ella and Etta and how they'd fight over a favorite toy, only Alya didn't think they could just duplicate Marinette (like her parents had bought a second toy) to stop the fight. She turned an easy-going grin Nino's way, but he could see the hint of Crazy about her eyes.

"I am totally freaking out, but if I let them know that they're going to start freaking out again," Alya said calmly, though her eye was slightly twitching. "So you're gonna tell me what happened, and we're gonna fix this, and _then_ I'm going to really freak out."

"Thank you," Marinette's kwami said as Alya handed her a plate of cookies. She gave Luka's kwami a small bowl with two peeled eggs in it, and he hissed his thanks before swallowing one whole. Alya snapped her fingers and looked at Marinette.

"No chance you have my Miraculous on you, do you?" she asked, and Marinette shook her head.

"I get them from the Guardian," she said. "I don't keep them. Except Tikki. I keep Tikki."

"I keep Plagg," Adrien said. He glared at Luka. "Because _I'm_ Ladybug's partner."

"Stop being stupid," Marinette pouted, lightly bopping his head. Alya's eyebrows soared, and she shared a look with Nino. _What. The. F-_

"I'm not stupid – he's stupid!" Adrien pouted.

"Nuh-uh! You're stupid, you stupid-head!" Marinette cried before Luka could defend himself. For his part, Luka just broke up the second egg and started handing bits to his kwami, seeming content to let Marinette fight the battle.

"You are!" Adrien shot back.

"You are!" Marinette said.

"You are!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"Yo-!"

"OH MY GOD SHUT UP!" Alya snapped, clapping her hands on her ears. "You're _both_ stupid right now!"

They both looked down, shame-faced, and Alya sighed as she handed the three kids a plate of cookies to share. She turned back to Nino.

"Ok, so Rena Rouge is out," she sighed. "How bad is it?"

"Like…she's calling herself Young at Heart. From what we gathered she runs a daycare, and something happened with the kids? And then she started turning _everyone_ into kids, only like…really bratty kids," he said. He pointed at Adrien and Luka. "Those two wouldn't stop fighting, and Ladybug got hit because she was distracted trying to separate 'em, and I…panicked. Your place was closest, so I just grabbed 'em and ran."

"Marinette, do you remember what you're supposed to do with an akuma?" Alya asked, and Marinette frowned as she looked up from her cookie.

"Of course," she said. "I make it better and use my Miraculous Ladybug to make the city better."

"Alya, I can't take them back out there – they're kids!" Nino cried. Alya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What other choice do we have, Nino? Ladybug's the only one who can purify akuma," she said. "You'll have to defeat Young at Heart, and then Little LB can do her thing."

"Perhaps he doesn't have to do it alone, though," Wayzz said, looking up from his third cracker. At their looks, he nodded towards Marinette. "She is not the only one who knows where the Guardian is. I am his kwami when not in use. I can take you."

"Woah, lil' dude, really?" Nino asked, and Wayzz nodded.

"Rena's help is needed. Master Fu can watch them as you fight, and if you bring the akuma back to him Marinette never has to see the battlefield," he said. Marinette puffed out her cheeks.

"I can fight – I'm Ladybug!" she huffed.

"It's not safe, though," Nino sighed. She tossed a half-eaten cookie at his face.

"I can fight!" she said again. Nino looked at Alya, who grinned at him.

"She can fight," she agreed, laughing. She reached out and picked Marinette up, settling her on her hip. "And I'm proud of you for being brave enough to want to, but this is really dangerous, Mari. Let Carapace and Rena Rouge handle it? We'll tag you in at the end."

"Fine," Marinette huffed, looking down in disappointment. She started picking at one of Alya's buttons, and Alya looked back to Nino and Wayzz.

"All right, little dude," she said to Wayzz. "Lead the way."


	5. Aug 8: Colors

**08 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Colors (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng (unrequited)_

_**Rating:**__ K Plus / PG / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ S3; angsty fluff. I swear I never meant all of the prompts to be MLB, but it seems the plunnies are happy in this sandbox._

Luka is blue.

It's everywhere: his eyes, his hair, his clothes, the water his home sails on, the open sky he strums his guitar under on sunny days. It's in Marinette's eyes, the endless sea he could get lost in if only she'd let him. It's in his heart, the melancholy he feels as he watches her run after Adrien outside the ice rink. It's in his veins, the ice steeling through him as Bob Roth threatens to ruin her career before it's even truly begun.

It's in the paint that spills over him when he trips carrying the new speaker above deck. It's the pallor of her skin as she realizes her mess has potentially caused him harm, and it's the warmth of his laugh – like a sun-kissed lake in August – as he tells her he's fine. And it suits him, doesn't it? And the blue is chased away by pink as she blushes and looks back to the banner she had been painting for Kitty Section's next gig (blue and pink and green and violet, a punky rainbow dancing around a unicorn cat).

It's in the peace that comes over her as she sits in on their rehearsals, when he breaks away and it's just them sitting on the deck and he can play her heart tune again. It's changing, warming, happy, and he thinks he'd be happy if they could just stay like this. It's the glimmer that comes to her eyes, like the sun on the water, as she asks him if he meant what he said, at the television studio. It's the hope when he tells her he meant it then and he means it still. It's the disappointment when she just hums and looks back to her sketchbook.

…it's the flicker when he spots the new design she's playing with for his mask, and the heart she absentmindedly doodles beside it.

It's the icing that's smeared on her cheeks from the Bastille Day cake she's making for the party her parents are throwing, the one in the park that all their friends and family have been invited to. She's done so much for his band (they've started calling her their unofficial fifth member), and he just wants to spend more time with her, and her eyes twinkle like stars when he offers to help carry things to the lunch. One thing leads to another, and then the cake is fine but the icing is _everywhere_, and all he sees is blue as he wipes a glob from her nose. Blueberry, he thinks with a smile as he licks the icing from his finger.

It's the soaring of his heart in an endless blue sky as she leaps at him, and it's in the stain of their mouths as she kisses him and the icing smears.

– V –

Marinette is pink.

It's the soft dusting of her cheeks, the blush of new love hidden by blue icing as she kisses a blue boy in her parents' bakery on Bastille Day. It was in the innocence of Rose's smile as she invited her to the concert during the music festival, and it was in the fluttering of her heart the first time she heard Luka play. It was in the neon lights that washed over him during that concert, as his eyes kept wandering to where she cheered next to Alya.

It's in the dress she wears on their first date, the one that flutters around her knees when they pass a busker in the street market and he spins her in a sudden dance. It's in her laugh when he kisses her again, because she lets him and he can and she's realizing she likes kissing Luka. It's in the bruising of his lips when he pulls back, and it's the skipping of her heart when she thinks she could kiss him forever.

It's the warmth of their skin as they lay out on the deck of the Liberty, Luka absently strumming on his guitar as she absently sketches his profile. It's the disappearing space on her walls, the territory reclaimed by the removal of Adrien's pictures vanishing again as pictures of Luka take their place. It's the strap of the bracelet she makes to hold the Jagged Stone pick he gave her the first time they met, and it's the blush when Jagged sees her newest accessory and crows. It's the giddy, happy feeling when Jagged and Luka have a jam session in her bedroom as she fits Jagged for his latest commission and Jagged tells her she's got a keeper.

It's the tips she dyes in her hair one weekend during a Kitty Section sleepover at the Liberty, and it's the feeling of belonging as Rose (with her own fresh, lilac tips) grabs them all in a selfie she's quick to post on the band's Insta. It's the flush of approval when Alya sees her the next day and cackles, welcoming her to the Fun Hair Club.

(Sometimes, though, she's red. It's the spotted suit she dons daily to protect Paris from possessed butterflies. It's the fury tinting her cheeks as Lila spouts another lie and is believed _again_, and Adrien still does nothing to stop her. It's the hurt as she has to reject Chat Noir again because there's still someone else, even if it's not the same someone else, and every time she has to break his heart is harder than the last. It's in the gleam of Reflekta's dress as she returns, more dangerous than ever, and in the pounding of blood in her ears as Luka accepts the Snake Miraculous and says he'll always be ready to help her, _Marinette_.

It's in the shame as she tells Master Fu someone has discovered her secret identity. It's the tiny screaming monster in her gut as Luka asks if she trusts him. It's the flame that burns the shame away when he kisses Ladybug and says he loves her with or without the mask, that he'll protect her secret with or without his own mask. That she's safe with him.

But mostly…she's pink, and it's the floating feeling of acceptance and security as she realizes that someone can see her beyond the mask and love her anyway, that maybe – just maybe – Marinette is enough, and she really is the _Everyday Ladybug_ Adrien had once called her.)

– V –

Adrien is green.

It's the nausea, at first. The uncertainty. _Marinette hates him?_ No, she doesn't – they're friends. And isn't that what he wanted? He considers her a good friend, and he's elated to learn she feels the same – so why does he have the lingering doubt? It's the subtle tilt of his stomach when he sees her leaving with Juleka, Rose, and Ivan at the end of the day, but he tells himself that's only because he really enjoyed playing with Kitty Section and he's sad that his father won't allow him the time to continue practicing with the band. _Agrestes are soloists._ It's the rolling when Juleka's older brother starts meeting her at the steps of the school at the end of the day. It's the uneasiness when they arrive at the Bastille Day picnic, their lips smudged blue and cheeks stained pink, and Nino laughs that they can't stop making 'moon eyes' at each other.

It's the dropping out from under him, the feeling that he's missed out on something he didn't even know he was able to miss out on.

It's the jealousy he doesn't know enough about to recognize until Nino calls him out on it. Because he liked Luka – he really did – when they had first met. He had appreciated Luka's help at the ice rink, even if the nausea had been there at the extra attention he'd paid Marinette (which was _dumb_, because he was there for Kagami, and Luka was there for Marinette, so shouldn't Luka be spending the attention on her?). He'd had fun at the Clara Nightingale shoot, when Marinette had texted him to join them. He'd even appreciated the mini concert Jagged Stone had asked Luka to join the day his bros had thrown him a surprise party.

But it's in the jealousy, and the jealousy is there, and he doesn't see it until Nino asks him what his deal is. It's in the glint of his eyes every time he sees them together. It's in the clenching of his fist every time he notes how easily Marinette talks to _him_ when most of the conversations they'd shared were stuttered and jumbled. It's in the anger – irrational as it all is – when he overhears Marinette tell Alya that yes, they're dating, and yes, she's moved on from…

It's in the bitterness when Ladybug tells him yet again that _she's in love with someone else and they're actually dating now_ and he realizes that he spent so long chasing someone who would never love him back that he completely missed the girl who did.

He remembers when he first started at Françoise Dupont, when he first made friends outside of Chloé Bourgeois, and green was a revitalization. A fresh spring day, a rebirth after the darkness that had followed his mother's disappearance. When green was the feeling of growth, of freedom as he branched away from his father's control. When green was happiness.

Now, he sees Marinette with her pink and Luka with his blue and Adrien is…Adrien is not green.

Adrien is blue.


	6. Aug 9: Time Travel

**09 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Time Travel (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Alix Kubdel, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Fu Wang_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ Timetagger. Le sigh. I could have taken the easy way out and hopped back in the TARDIS, but noooo. I had to play with bunnies._

"It's weird," Alix commented as she stretched, raising her arms high above her head. Kim looked down at her, an amused look on his face.

"Weirder than a bunch of French teenagers wielding magical jewelry to save the world?" he asked, and Alix punched his shoulder. They hadn't been teenagers for a while now, the goof.

"Not that, it's just…well, I guess I'm the oldest in the group now, huh?" she asked with a smirk. "Y'know, now that Timetagger had me take a two thousand year nap."

"Ah. So time travel's weird," Kim said, looking back to the television and the swimming competition he'd been watching before Alix got home. "Makes sense, though. You run to pick up takeout and come back two thousand years older."

"Our lives are _weird_," she huffed. He chuckled and glanced behind them, where Xuppu and Fluff were fighting over a carrot (Xuppu didn't like carrots, but he did love causing trouble).

"I like weird," he said with a grin. "It works."

"Dork," she laughed, knocking him with her elbow. She tossed a piece of orange chicken in her mouth.

"Granny," he came back, and her snort nearly had her choking on her chicken. Yeah. Time travel was _weird_.

– V –

"Yo! Marinette! You here?" Alix called as she opened the door to Marinette's boutique, the electronic bell chiming above the soft music playing through the speakers. The shop was empty, but considering they weren't actually going to open for another hour or so that didn't really surprise her. Marinette had told her she'd leave the door open when she'd asked her to come over the night before.

"Back here!"

She followed the voice through the curtain that separated the shop from the studio in the back. Alix whistled as she saw the half-completed designs decorating the mannequins. Her designer friend had been busy since her last visit (that or Luka had finally put his foot down on her taking work home). Said friend was currently bent over a sewing machine, her back towards the door.

"Just a sec," Marinette said when Alix appeared beside her. She finished the hem she'd been working on, snipped the thread, and removed the piece from the machine. Switching it off, she looked up and gave Alix a wide smile. "Hey! Thanks for coming in. I wanted to talk to you about yesterday."

"I figured," Alix said. She sat on the corner of Marinette's work station and fished her Miraculous out of her pocket. Fluff emerged a moment later carrying the second watch. Alix took it from her, and her kwami zipped off to visit Tikki. "My old man said this watch has been in my family for generations. Think any other keeper has broken it as many times as I have?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about…" Marinette sighed. She looked nervous – more nervous than Alix had seen in years. Not since they were kids. "Alix, I know it's an heirloom, but it is still a Miraculous."

"…you're not saying what I think you're saying," Alix said. Her eyes narrowed at Marinette. "No way are you saying what I think you're saying. Mari, come on! When you became the Guardian, after everything that went down with Adrien's dad, you said it was safer if we all kept our Miraculous – and if that's not good enough, like you said: it's a family heirloom! You can't take it back!"

"I'm not asking to take it back!" Marinette said quickly, holding up her hands. At Alix's confused look, she smiled. "I trust you've looked at both of them?"

Alix nodded, but she looked again to be safe. Even if they were both currently dormant, she could tell her Miraculous from her Mini-Me's. Hers felt stronger. Warmer. Fluff was active (excessively so, if the game of tag she was playing with Tikki was any indication). Both watches were whole, though – something that had surprised her when she'd returned yesterday, but only slightly. Marinette's _Miraculous Ladybug_ cure had always been impressive.

"You – younger you – asked me yesterday when she was going to get her Miraculous," Marinette continued. "We both know she'll be getting it sooner than she thinks, so I need to ask you a favor."

"We don't need two in this timeline," Alix said, and Marinette nodded.

"I remember when you got that watch, Alix," she said. Alix remembered, too. Timebreaker was hard to forget, much as she wanted to. "I also remember when you lost it, and the first time I gave it back to you. I need you to give it to someone for me to make sure that still happens."

Alix smiled and held up her own watch.

"Fluff, clockwise," she called, and her kwami zipped over to her to join with the watch. When the light faded, Bunnix smiled at Marinette. "When to, boss?"

– V –

Fu Wang was used to _weirdness_. Being one hundred and eighty-six years old (and the last surviving member of a mystical order charged with guarding the Miracle Box and its Miraculous Stones), he'd had a lot of time to get used to weirdness. So when a bright, glowing ring of light opened up in his parlor as he enjoyed his afternoon tea and a superhero leapt through, he just kept his eyes closed and sipped his tea.

"Master Fu?" the blue and white-clad hero asked, and Fu smiled up at her.

"I was expecting you," he said, putting his tea on the mat before him. "Ladybug said you were a great help with the akuma yesterday."

"It is an honor to meet you, sir," the hero said, kneeling before him. He chuckled and waved her off.

"Sit, sit, Bunnix," he said. He smiled as she did. "No need for such formalities. I believe you have something for me."

"My Ladybug thought you would be the best person to watch over this for us," Bunnix said, digging the second Rabbit Miraculous out of her pocket. She handed the watch over to Fu. "Until my younger self is ready to assume her role as keeper of the Rabbit Miraculous."

"I am surprised you are willing to part with it," Fu said. "Ladybug also said your family has been keeping it safe for generations."

"But Mini-Me won't get to continue to do so unless I give it to you so you can give it to Ladybug so Ladybug can give it to her," Bunnix said with a wink. She paused and laughed. "Man, time travel is _weird_."

"You navigate it masterfully," Fu said with a chuckle. Bunnix snapped her fingers and dug an envelope out of her other pocket. She handed it to him as she stood.

"LB wanted you to have this," she said. She gave him a mini salute. "Take care of that watch for me, ok?"

"With my life," Fu said, dipping his head in a bow. A shadow passed over the heroine's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. With a cry of _Burrow!_ she leapt through another wormhole and disappeared as quickly as she'd come. Fu looked down at the envelope curiously, and with a shrug he opened it.

Inside was a photograph of an army of superheroes. Ladybug and Chat Noir stood proud at the center, with Rena Rogue and Carapace at their shoulders. Chloé Bourgeois, unmistakable as ever, once again bore the black and yellow stripes of the Bee Miraculous. Bunnix, looking just as she had when he saw her moments ago, standing with her umbrella open behind them all. Heroes he did not recognize but knew from the Box surrounded them: the Snake, the Horse, the Monkey, the Dragon, the Pig, the Cock, the Ram…an army of heroes, strong and proud and smiling as brightly as their leader. A rush of pride surged through him, warming his heart as he flipped the photograph over. Marinette's delicate script swirled over the back, a ladybug doodled by a looping _LB_ under her message.

_Thank you._


	7. Aug 11: Whump

**11 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Whump (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Fu Wang, Gabriel Agreste, Nathalie Sancoeur, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, Nino Lahiffe, Alya Césaire, Chloé Bourgeois, Kagami Tsurugi, Mylène Haprèle, Ivan Bruel, Lê Chiến Kim, Max Kanté, Juleka Couffaine, Luka Couffaine, Rose Lavillant, Emilie Agreste_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ Hardcore character death (that's a hit list up there). Happy endings are for cowards._

_step by step, heart to heart_

_left, right, left – we all fall down_

_like toy soldiers_

_bit by bit, torn apart_

_we never win, but the battle wages on_

_for toy soldiers_

_. . : : toy soldiers – martika : : . ._

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

_Poor little Fu._

Back then, when he first noticed them, first saw their capacity for _goodness_, before any of this even started, when all of it was just the prickling of a feeling – the Butterfly stirring again…

_Poor little Fu, always making such big mistakes._

Back when red was the color of hope, when everything could be fixed with the triumphant cry of "Lucky Charm!"

_Poor little Fu, the scared old man sending in children to fight his battles._

When he had first given the Ladybug Miraculous to Marinette, when he had first seen the makings of greatness in her, when he had known she would be the one to take up the mantle of Guardian when his time had passed…

_Poor, poor little Fu._

Back when he had known she would do it better, when he had known she would never run like he had.

_The coward._

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

– V –

The Turtle is the first to fall, and that…that's on him. Fu knows this even as he watches it all unfold: the breaking of his back, the pooling of his blood. Ladybug is supposed to be able to fix anything, but the charm has already been cast when Mayura makes her move. When she grabs the young hero and throws him from the roof. When she taunts the heroes watching in horror below.

_You're running out of time, little Bug._

And it's his fault, because he should have been on the battlefield. Even knowing he is too old to bear the mantle of the Jade Turtle anymore, he watches the Fox screaming as she cradles Carapace's body in her arms, and he regrets everything. This is all too much for them. They're still children. How could he have asked them to fight his war? To fix his mistakes?

And Mayura's laugh echoes above it all, and then Rena Rouge is charging towards her even as Chat Noir tries to hold her back. Viperion stands uselessly to the side, his hand hovering uncertainly over his own Miraculous, but they all know better: there was no point set to return to, and Carapace will have no Second Chance.

Mayura is already gone, and Hawkmoth's message is clear: they're all running out of time. He's getting stronger. Bolder.

The Turtle is the first to fall.

And that's on him.

– V –

It rains the day they put Nino Lahiffe in the ground. It's the height of summer, and Paris is boiling, and they're in the middle of a record drought, but it rains that day. The city weeps as heavily as the gathering of teenagers in the cemetery, and the parched ground can't take it.

Hawkmoth takes full advantage of the floods to claim his next victim.

Alya Césaire stands on the Pont des Arts and watches the Seine rise. She holds the Turtle Miraculous in her hand, bears the Fox around her neck. She knows the rules, knows they are both to be returned to Ladybug at the end of their use, and yet…

"Wayzz is hurt, Alya," Ladybug says behind her. She had allowed her to keep them for the funeral, to let the kwamis say goodbye. "I have to return him to the Guardian so he can heal."

"Nino can't be healed," Alya says, her voice flat. Ladybug can't look at her.

"I brought you both into this," she says. Her arms come up to hug herself, as if she'll fall apart under Alya's unspoken accusation. "From now on…whatever happens is on me. What happened to Carapace…to Nino is on me. I have to find a way to live with that."

"I don't want to live with it," Alya says. She runs her thumb against the green Miraculous, her heart clenching in her chest. "I want him back."

"I know," Ladybug says.

"We were starting university next month," Alya continues, her gaze still locked on the Turtle Miraculous. She can feel Wayzz inside, though weakened. Sleeping.

"…I know," Ladybug says. Alya's gaze snaps up to her at that. Ladybug looks away.

"He wanted to marry me," Alya continues. "Not…not yet, I wouldn't let him ask yet, but…he wanted to marry me."

"I'm sorry," Ladybug says. Alya's hand clenches into a fist.

"God damn it, Ladybug, I don't want your _sorry!_ I want Ni-!"

Neither of them saw the black butterfly land on the Miraculous, but Ladybug hears Alya's sudden gasp. She looks up and sees the glowing butterfly mask around her bruised eyes. She hears Alya's strangled _no_ as she throws the Turtle Miraculous on the bridge, and she watches in horrified confusion as Alya tears the Fox's necklace off and tosses it beside the bracelet.

"Alya?" she asks, her voice weak, but Alya shakes her head as the butterfly mask flickers. She steps back, presses against the railing. Hears the roaring of the Seine below.

"You'll never win," she whispers, and with a final shudder the mask fades. The akuma leaves the Miraculous and flies away. Ladybug is too busy trying to catch it, doesn't see her best friend take the step until she's over the railing and it's too late.

"ALYA!"

– V –

Ladybug doesn't want to give out any more Miraculous stones after that. It's her fault, she says, and she refuses to let anyone else die because she pulled them into a war she's supposed to fight.

Fu won't let her believe that. In the end, it's _his_ fault. He was the one who gave her and Chat Noir their Miraculous stones all those years ago. He's the one who lost the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculous stones to begin with. He's the one who caused the destruction of the other Guardians. If anyone's to blame, it's him.

Chat Noir refuses to let him say that. This is Hawkmoth's fault, he insists. Mayura's. No one else's. When the next akuma attacks and proves stronger than they can handle, he's determined to prove them wrong. They can handle this. What happened to Nino and Alya was a tragic accident, but they can be better. Stronger.

So Fu doesn't argue when he takes the Bee Miraculous and tracks down Chloé Bourgeois. And it all seems fine, at first, because Queen Bee knows what she's doing. She's strong. She's resourceful.

...but Mayura is more so, and she's done with Queen Bee's buzzing. She won't have her interfere again, and in one instant she has Queen Bee in a chokehold. She's ripped the comb from her hair. She's crushed it beneath her fingers.

Ladybug knew a Miraculous stone could be damaged. She hadn't known what would happen if the stone was damaged while in use.

André Bourgeois shuts down the city the day he buries his daughter.

– V –

Ladybug wants to lay low after that.

Hawkmoth doesn't give them the choice.

But she won't fight. Not anymore. She comes to his shop in the dead of night, and she doesn't give him a chance to talk her out of it before she's pressing the box containing her earrings into his hand. She had to make sure _he_ got them, she says. Not Hawkmoth. But she's done.

Chat refuses to believe him, but they're three akumas in and Ladybug has yet to show. The purple butterflies flutter in a container in his shop with no Ladybug to purify them. They can't work like this. They were on the defensive before. They're losing now.

So Chat takes the earrings and seeks out Kagami Tsurugi. She can't be Ryuko, for her own safety, but she can be Ladybug. For now, not for good, because Chat still believes his Lady will return. And it works, for a time. Kagami is a skilled fighter, and her heart is good. She wants to save the city that's become her home, to protect the friends she's made throughout the years. She's more than a match for Mayura, and the Peacock villain can't get close enough to try and steal her earrings. She partners with Chat Noir as easily as the real Ladybug, their fighting styles complimenting each other perfectly.

Maybe that's how Kagami figures out Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste.

Ten akumas in, and despite every attempt to contact her Fu still hasn't seen Marinette. Hawkmoth stages another mass attack, once more utilizing Mayura's power to boost his own, and Fu is desperate. Still she won't answer her phone.

It's a bloodbath.

Neither Hawkmoth nor Mayura seem to have any qualms with taking lives anymore. Fu supposes it's easier, once that first one has been claimed.

Chat Noir calls in their reserve heroes, the ones who've seen action less than the rest but he knows they'll fail without. Kim and Max. Ivan and Mylène. Fu is almost foolish enough to hope as he watches the news coverage unfold. Pegasus transports the team across the Trocadéro, pulling them from killing blows in the nick of time. Multimouse's duplications cause a much-needed distraction, while Minotaur wrestles the larger akumas. Roi Singe is _everywhere_, his jovial fighting style encouraging the team.

Until his laugh is cut off abruptly, and the heroes turn to find he's frozen in place, his eyes wide and the laugh stuttering in his throat. He gropes at his chest, looking at it blindly to see the tip of a sword sticking through. He looks up at Chat Noir, locks eyes, and then he's disintegrating as the sword glows white-hot. Pegasus screams, creating another portal just to reach him, just so his friend won't die alone, but he's barely stepped through when the akuma pivots. Pegasus has barely screamed Roi Singe's name when the blade cuts him in half. Chat Noir is screaming as he races towards them, but the akuma has snatched up the fallen Miraculous stones and is running away. Multimouse and Minotaur are cut down moments later, and the akuma is left laughing in the middle of the plaza. It keeps laughing as Ladybug rushes in behind her, using her yoyo like a sword to fight back. But the akuma knocks her back, and it removes its hood, and Ladybug gasps as Lila Rossi stands before her.

"You'll never win," she says, and Chat screams as she drives her sword through Ladybug's chest. Ladybug – Kagami – looks at him, disbelief shining in her glassy eyes, before she disintegrates.

The tinkling of the Ladybug Miraculous against the stone of the Trocadéro is the loudest sound Chat Noir has ever heard.

Lila smirks, sneers at him, as she bends to pick up the earrings. Chat isn't quite sure what happens after that. A roar rings out over the plaza, and Lila looks up, startled, as a mass of orange and black slams into her. She screams, and Chat watches mystified as the new hero drags fingers tipped with golden claws – claws attached to an intricate bracelet he's seen in the Miracle Box but never in use – across Lila's stomach, but the attack doesn't harm her. Lila seems to be torn in two – the Lila he knows from school and the Lila possessed by the akuma – before the possessed Lila becomes a butterfly and the butterfly is shredded with the claws. The pouch that had been holding the captured Miraculous stones is reclaimed, and the new hero adds Ladybug's earrings to the mix before running over to Chat.

"Defeat them," she says, her voice low. "I'm taking these back to the Guardian. _Win_, Chat Noir."

But then she's gone, and Chat stares hopelessly around the Trocadéro, because she's just told him to win but he doesn't know how. The akuma are defeated, but so are his friends. Mayura stands across the plaza, grinning at him, and he doesn't know what to do. Doesn't know how to win.

Ladybug was defeated. There will be no lucky charm, no _Miraculous Ladybug_, no miracle cure to revive the heroes. To save his friends. Chat Noir is alone.

And Alix watches, horrified, from the sidelines, where she hides behind an overturned car, as her friends fall. As the heroes of Paris _lose_. But she knows she can stop this, can fix this, if only she can get the time. So she grabs her watch, and she's barely called on Fluff when Mayura appears grinning before her.

"Found you, little rabbit," she whispers. The watch is knocked from her hand, shattered on the ground, as Mayura draws a feather from her fan. The pointed tip is sliced along the girl's neck, and she's left to die in the street, choking on her own blood.

Hawkmoth has one last akuma to spare that day.

And Chat Noir – knowing that he caused this, that everyone he cares about would still be alive if he had only listened to his Lady – loses his mind.

– V –

Hawkmoth and Mayura are bad.

Chat Blanc is worse.

He ignores every command Hawkmoth sends him, because who needs Hawkmoth? The akuma enhances powers that are already gifted by the Cat Miraculous, and Chat Blanc is indiscriminate in his vengeance. He wants the city to burn. He wants it to crumble as his friends crumbled.

He wants…

Seeing Ladybug standing before him is almost enough to give him pause. Seeing the three heroes behind her – Viperion, the girl from the Trocadéro, and another girl dressed in pink (the Pig Miraculous, he knows) – is enough to spark the rage anew.

"Thought you wanted to keep civilians out of this, Bugaboo," he hisses.

"You didn't give us much choice, Hawkmoth," Ladybug says. She walks closer to him. "Release Chat Noir."

"Chat Noir is dead," Chat Blanc sneers. "You should be used to that by now. Like this."

He's never cataclysmed a human before. He remembers Miraculer, remembers the feeling of deterioration as his own body gave way under the attack, but he's never actually done it before. It used to be something he was proud of. Now, he watches with a perverse glee as he leaps over Ladybug and lands a glowing hand on the Pig hero's head. She screams, her blue eyes staring into his own glowing, violet leer.

She's dust before he lands.

"Second Chance!"

Chat Blanc scowls at Viperion's cry. Of course he was learning. But it doesn't matter, because Viperion only has one chance to use his power before needing to recharge, and thanks to the akuma Chat Blanc doesn't have that limitation anymore. The Pig is blinking at them in confusion when he lunges at her again. The Tiger pulls her away and slashes at Chat's back, but he's quicker. He spins mid-air throws his cataclysm against her chest. The air is thrown from her body as he tosses her back to the other heroes. Viperion tries to catch her, but there's nothing left to catch. He screams. _Howls._

"JULEKA!"

"Chaton, stop it!" Ladybug shrieks, and her yoyo is pulling him back as he lunges for the heroes again. He's struggling with Ladybug, and he barely catches the beeping, but his lips twist in a manic grin when Luka charges into the fight to land a fist against his jaw. "Luka, no! Run! Hide!"

Chat is cackling. He should have known. He sees the bangle now, hidden among the others on Luka's wrist. He's never seen him so angry before. Never heard him scream so loud. And then he's rushing him again, and it's all a scramble. Luka's good, but in his civilian form he's not _that_ good – and Viperion was never a front-line fighter, anyway. It takes a few tries, but he finally lands a hit – right as Ladybug's trying to pull him away, and Chat Blanc's hand lands squarely on Luka's back.

He's never heard Ladybug scream like that, either, as Luka disintegrates in her arms.

She's desperate and distracted as she crabs the Pig's hand, and they run. His cataclysm is too thorough. There are no trinkets to collect from the dead heroes. Just ash.

He chases them through the city. Somehow he loses the Pig, but he's closing in on Ladybug. It's a game they've played for years, and he's gotten much better at it. He almost has her a few times, his claws scraping down her back, around her leg, through her shoulder. The last pass has her stumbling on a landing, and he throws her into the wall of an alley. He presses against her, and thinks once upon a time her tears might have stopped him.

"Chat, please…Chaton…come back to me," she gasps. He tightens his grip on her shoulders, his claws digging in.

"You'll never win," he hisses. Her eyes go wide at the words, and she screams as he rips the earrings from her ears. Her transformation drops, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng is standing before him. Some distant part of his mind thinks he should care about that, but he's already whispered the last word she'll ever hear before the light fades.

"Cataclysm."

– V –

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Because of course Hawkmoth is no longer happy just possessing the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous stones. Of course he wants the entire box.

Rose had barely stumbled into Fu's shop, crying that they'd failed and Chat Blanc was coming, when Chat announced that he was already there with a cataclysm to her back. The bangle of the Pig clattered to the ground at Fu's feet.

"You will never win," Fu had spat at him as he picked it up, but he had only laughed as he fingered the pearls of the bangle.

"He already has," Chat had said. Fu doesn't remember what happened after that, not until he awoke in an underground garden surrounded by white butterflies.

Chat Blanc is screaming, practically feral as Mayura holds him in place. Hawkmoth chuckles and tells him his assistance is no longer needed. He walks across the dais and grabs Chat's hand. The akuma flutters away, but the fight doesn't leave him as his suit stains black again. He's thrashing, screaming, but Hawkmoth merely nods at Mayura. She raises a feather, and it's over.

Another failure for Fu Wang.

Hawkmoth chuckles lowly as he removes the ring from the dead hero's finger, but the chuckle stops abruptly when the transformation falls away and Adrien Agreste is revealed in Mayura's hold.

It was never supposed to end like this.

"A-Adrien…?" Hawkmoth breathes out, his voice barely audible. He has gone still, frozen, but Mayura is shaking. She falls to her knees, Adrien crumbling on her lap, and turns horrified eyes to her partner.

"Sir…" she chokes out, but Hawkmoth can't hear her. He's furious. Manic. He whirls on Fu, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"You! Guardian! Give me the Ladybug Miraculous!" he demands. He races over to him, grabbing and scrabbling at the Miracle Box. "How do you open…? Quickly! It's not too late – we can fix this! We can…where are those damned earrings?!"

"Chat Blanc never returned them to me," Fu says steadily. His gaze is stone as he glares at Hawkmoth. "Check his pockets. You don't seem above looting a dead man."

"Sir!" Mayura calls as Hawkmoth slaps him, and he runs back to her. She's holding Ladybug's earrings in her hand. He snatches them, holds them with the Cat's ring…and nothing happens. He whirls on Fu again.

He never should have brought in _children_ to fix his mistakes.

"How does it work, old man?!" Hawkmoth demands. "The ultimate power! The power to bend reality! How does it work?!"

"A price must be paid," Fu says. Hawkmoth laughs.

"I've already paid it, you fool! But I can fix it – now tell me how!" he shouts.

He's made so many mistakes.

"You will never win," he says firmly, standing despite the shake of his knees. Hawkmoth screams, and he spins again. Stalks over to the glass coffin Fu hadn't noticed before. Shock steals through him as he recognizes Emilie Agreste, the last holder of the Peacock Miraculous. The mother of…

"I will bring her back," Hawkmoth says quietly, his hand pressing against the glass. "I will bring them both back."

Hawkmoth's hand fists over the earrings and ring of his enemies. A glow, faint at first but growing ever stronger, envelopes his hand, then his arm, then everything.

"Si-!" Fu hears Mayura cry, but it's cut off as the light hits her.

It was never supposed to end like this, Fu thinks as his heart seizes in his chest. Emilie Agreste was never supposed to wield the Peacock Miraculous.

The light fades. The comb of the Peacock clatters to the floor as Nathalie Sancoeur collapses atop Adrien Agreste's body. The room is growing darker, Fu's vision blurring as he struggles to catch his breath. The room is spinning, falling, as it slips further and further away.

It was never supposed to end like this.

Emilie Agreste opens her eyes.


	8. Aug 12: Dreams

**12 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Dreams (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ Post-Silencer. I owe y'all some fluff after yesterday. (I'm apologizing right now for the tenses. I was trying to do a thing, but I'm running on like two hours of sleep and I feel like that car that should be pulled over for drunken weaving? Call the grammar police I'm getting a WUI.)_

Luka knows without a doubt that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug.

No one tells him. He doesn't even really figure it out. He just wakes up one morning, and as he lays in his bunk and stares at the ceiling above him he just _knows_.

"Marinette is Ladybug," he says slowly, his voice gravelly with sleep. Across the room, half-asleep in her own bunk, Juleka snorts and throws a pillow at him.

"I'll believe it when she stops tripping up steps," she says, and he smiles slightly as he remembers walking Marinette home the night before, the hesitant kiss they'd shared, and how she'd looked back before slipping inside – and literally slipping on the freshly-mopped floor of her parents' bakery. Juleka's right, of course. Marinette _couldn't_ be Ladybug.

And yet…he knows, he just _knows_, that she is.

– V –

He doesn't remember what happened while he was Silencer. It's not surprising, as no one ever actually remembers what happens when Hawkmoth's akumas possess them. There's a feeling of guilt, of regret, of shame that come with the absence of memories, but there are no real memories. You feel the anger, the hurt, the lowest of your emotions, and then you fall asleep. When you wake up, Ladybug and Chat Noir are there with reassuring smiles and no judgment (the only one who judges you is yourself – and Chloé Bourgeois, on occasion).

But he remembers what happened _after._ He remembers Marinette stopping him before Kitty Section took the stage, and he remembers the uncertainty in her eyes as she asks if he does remember. He'd said something, and he remembers the fear that gripped him as he wondered what he possibly could have said to put that look on her face. Akumas are born from bad places, and he knows nothing good could come from anything an akuma had said.

So he had told her what he knew, as Luka. What he'd been struggling to tell her over the weeks she'd been spending with the band, what he'd decided he shouldn't tell her after he saw the way she looked at Agreste at the ice rink. What he knew he had to tell her to chase away the sadness on her face.

She's an extraordinary girl, as clear as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. He's always heard music in his head – music is easier than talking – but she's the song that's been playing in his head since the moment they met. He hadn't told her he loves her, because neither of them are ready for those words yet (someday, he hopes, but only when he knows her heart could be his alone), but he had hoped the meaning was implied. That she had understood.

She was so good at understanding him.

She was called away before they could talk more, but when he'd checked his phone before going to bed that night he'd found a text from her.

_You've been stuck in my head, too. xM_

Sleep had come easy that night. He had dreamed of the ice rink, of the feel of her in his arms, of what could have happened if they hadn't been there with Adrien Agreste.

– V –

The dreams started the next night.

There's another akuma that day, and the footage from the Ladyblog caught a close-up of Ladybug speaking to the victim after the battle was done (he doesn't usually peruse the blog, but Rose had it up during practice to show Juleka something, and he'd seen it by chance). There was a look in Ladybug's eyes that he couldn't shake.

When he slept that night, his dream was of Ladybug. Of the satisfied smile she gave him as Bob Roth scrambled to salvage his image on live TV. He shook his head in disbelief at the creep and looked back to the heroine, but it was no longer Ladybug by his side. It was Marinette.

He woke up the next day and realized that Ladybug and Marinette had the same eyes.

– V –

There are little bits, pieces that slip into place when he sleeps. Marinette's bravery in standing up to the shady music exec juxtaposed with a defiant Ladybug, pleading with a villain dressed in black and purple to come to his senses. Ladybug back-flipping over that same villain and Marinette pivoting to catch a dropped case of open paints. A sorrow in clear blue eyes hidden by a spotted mask, a hero that didn't want to hurt him because…

His power had been to steal people's voices, to use those voices against their owners. He had stolen Ladybug's voice. And that's it, in the end. He hadn't recognized it at the time. He'd been so blinded by his anger and Hawkmoth, and it hadn't clicked. Or…if it had, he didn't remember it clicking.

It clicks in his dreams. He remembers in his dreams.

So he wakes up one day, staring at his ceiling, and he _knows_. Marinette is Ladybug. Ladybug's voice is the same one that's been stuck in his head for months now. It doesn't make sense, but it makes perfect sense. Because Juleka's right, and Marinette _can't_ be Ladybug, and yet…he just knows.

She is.


	9. Aug 13: Feelings

**13 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Feelings (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Alya C__é__saire/Nino Lahiffe, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng (unrequited/Alya's Pushing It)_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen (eh mild swearing)_

_**Notes:**__ S3, post-Puppeteer 2. I've recently started watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (egad it's a train wreck with show tunes I love it), and I keep thinking Alya is Paula. (Alya is Captain, First Mate, and Navigator of the Good Ship Adrinette. She is not letting her ship sink without a fight. Also I typed "Lila is a good friend" and my skeleton tried to crawl out of my skin.)_

Something was rotten in Françoise Dupont.

Alya's eyes narrowed as Adrien talked to Marinette. As Marinette laughed at the stupid joke he'd just made and came back with one of her own – _without stuttering_. Without blushing. They smiled at each other, but the not-so-subtle glances of barely-hidden (ok not-really-hidden-at-all) longing were missing from Marinette every time Adrien turned to include Nino in the conversation.

In fact, the only time Marinette acted weird – her normal – was when she glanced down at her phone after it buzzed with a text. She typed her reply before Alya could see who it was to, and when she looked back up to the conversation her cheeks were dusted with pink.

"Oh!" Adrien said, suddenly turning back to Marinette. He hit her with his hundred-watt, sure-to-turn-her-to-jelly smile, and she _smiled back_. "I have a photoshoot after school today, and Father said I could bring a friend. Well…Nathalie said, but I'm still allowed to bring someone. We never really talked about it again after the last time, but did you want to come?"

Alya was practically squinting at Marinette by this point. Marinette glanced back at her phone and bit her lip. Adrien – oblivious as ever – waited patiently for her answer. When she finally looked up from her phone, her cheeks were still pink but she looked…apologetic. None of the spazzy excitement Alya would have expected was present on her face.

"I'm so sorry, Adrien," she said. "I would love to come to one of your shoots some time, but I have a prior engagement today."

"_Girl!"_ Alya hissed, but Marinette didn't seem phased. She gave her a confused look as Adrien chuckled.

"That's ok," he said. "I probably should have given you more notice. Mind if I ask what you're engagement is?"

Her cheeks darkened.

"I'm meeting with Jagged Stone to discuss some designs for his next music video," she said. Alya choked.

"Wow, that's amazing, Marinette!" Adrien laughed. "I'm kind of jealous."

"I'd reschedule, but he's only got a few hours in town before he has to get back on the road," Marinette said. Adrien waved her off.

"No, I get it," he said. Alya certainly didn't. Well, ok, she did, but this was Adrien! "I'd miss the photoshoot, too, if it meant seeing Jagged Stone. You're so lucky, Marinette."

Marinette rolled her eyes as Mme. Bustier entered the room and called for attention.

"Tell that to the four hundred and fifty-kilogram crocodile my parents are gonna have to clean up after," Marinette whispered to him as they pulled out their books. Adrien actually snorted, and while Marinette smiled as Mme. Bustier shot them a look she showed no outward signs of visibly imploding as she leaned back in her seat.

Yes, something was rotten in Françoise Dupont, and Alya was determined to get to the bottom of it.

– V –

"She's acting weird, Nino," Alya huffed at lunch. They sat on the steps outside of the school, and Alya had for the most part kept her gaze trained on the bakery across the street. Marinette had made her apologies to their group, claiming that she still had some things to get ready for her meeting, and had gone home for their lunch period. Adrien had missed the last period and would miss lunch as well for another engagement his father had scheduled for him.

"It's Marinette, babe," Nino said before taking a bite of his sandwich. He shrugged and continued talking around his food. "She always acts a little weird." He swallowed and gave her a pointed look. "Especially around Adrien."

"But this isn't her usual weird!" Alya huffed. "She's actually talking to him! Without stuttering!"

"Well, isn't that good? Like, it's progress," he said. He snatched a carrot stick from her lunch and crunched on it. "Don't we want progress?"

"Of course we want progress, but…it's just _weird_," Alya sighed. "I think something happened at the wax museum, Nino. She hasn't said anything, but…she was kinda down for a few days after. Didn't you notice?"

"I dunno," Nino said with a shrug. "I just figured it was her…y'know."

"Oh my God I can't believe you," Alya groaned, burying her face in her hands. Her own sandwich was half-eaten and forgotten on the step between them. Nino had not forgotten this.

"You gonna eat that?" he asked, and she groaned again. He looked up, and a flash of blue across the street caught his eye. "Hey, isn't that Luka? Dude. Haven't really seen him since that mess with XY."

Alya did look up at that, and she sucked in a breath when she saw Luka standing with Marinette outside the bakery. Marinette, who was supposed to be so busy preparing for Jagged Stone that she couldn't each lunch with her friends. Alya's eyes narrowed as Marinette handed Luka a stack of boxes – a decent-sized cardboard box and a pink bakery box on top of it. They spoke a bit more, and Marinette scribbled something on a sticky note and attached it to the bigger box. Luka said something that made Marinette blush, but it didn't seem to be a Code Red blush. Marinette still spoke to him easily, and then she was waving goodbye as he left.

"…Nino, I am concerned," Alya said. He frowned as they watched Marinette watch Luka walk away. She did look a little…funny. Dreamy. That dopey grin she usually reserved for Adrien was on her face, only it was…softer. It reminded Nino of the look Adrien claimed he gave Alya when no one was looking (and sometimes even when they were).

"About Luka?" he asked. He grabbed her sandwich anyway.

"Yes, about Luka!" she cried. Marinette had finally gone back into the bakery. "What was up with that?! The dopey grin? The goo-goo eyes?"

"Sounds like Marinette has a new crush," Nino said with a shrug. "I dunno. Maybe it's good for her. I mean…don't get me wrong, babe. I'd love our bros to be happy together. But…I mean, Adrien doesn't really seem that interested, y'know?"

"No, I don't know! He's totally in love with her – he just doesn't know it yet!" Alya huffed. She snatched her sandwich back and took an angry bite. She wasn't really hungry anymore, and she didn't really care if he finished it, except now she was angry at him, too, so fat chance she was letting him enjoy her mother's cooking.

Nino sighed and grabbed another carrot.

"I'm just not so sure anymore, babe. Besides, if she does like Luka, does that really surprise you?" he asked. She swallowed and glared at him.

"What?" she asked. He waved his hand about, gesturing vaguely at the bakery.

"You are the one who called Marinette out on her feelings for Luka _months_ ago," he said. She sputtered angrily, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "The music festival? The compass thing? Or did I totally misunderstand that metaphor?"

Sometimes Nino really did surprise her.

"I was joking!" she cried. When he continued to level her with that look, she groaned. "Ok, maybe I wasn't, but I didn't think it was serious! Luka's a cool, older musician – of course she was gonna have a crush on him! Hell, I had a crush on him! But that doesn't mean she's _in love_ with him!"

"But she has been spending a lot of time with the band. Helping with costumes and staging and stuff," he said. He grabbed the last carrot. He didn't think Alya noticed. "Like, babe, she's spent more time with Kitty Section over the past two weeks than she's spent with my boy in two years. Maybe it's not a crush anymore."

"She's in love with _Adrien!"_ she cried – probably a little louder than she should have, as the strangled cry did draw the attention of a few students also enjoying the nice spring day. Nino shrugged.

"I don't think so, babe," he said. "Not anymore."

Alya threw the remains of her sandwich down a bit more aggressively than she probably should have and stormed back into the school. Nino sighed as a pigeon swooped in and started pecking at the bread. Well, at least _someone_ got to enjoy Chef Césaire's cooking…

– V –

Alya kept a close eye on her girl over the following week.

She didn't really like what she saw.

Marinette didn't blush around Adrien anymore – or, to be more accurate, she didn't spontaneously combust around him. There were still the little blushes, the coloring of embarrassment she'd get around anyone when she did something classically Marinette, but it wasn't the full-on meltdown of _oh my God I just did that in front of ADRIEN_ that Alya was used to. She wanted to agree with Nino – that this was progress, that this was _good_ – but something just felt _off_.

And Alya just didn't know when it had happened. She wanted to say it was because of the wax museum, but if she was honest with herself it had started before that. Marinette had been weird around Adrien for a while now, and the failed trip to the museum just seemed like the final nail in the coffin. She blamed herself. Marinette was her best friend, but she had been distracted lately. Spending more time with Nino. Chasing down Ladybug. Hanging out with Lila. Maybe she could have spent more time with Marinette, but it wasn't like Marinette hadn't been busy herself. She still had her babysitting, and she was helping out at the bakery more, and her business was picking up (clearly – _Jagged Stone_ was commissioning her!). She'd spent nearly all of her free time for two weeks helping Kitty Section with their video for XY's contest, and even after that…Nino was right. She'd been spending a lot of time at the Liberty lately.

Which was maybe why she didn't think too much of it when Juleka's brother would show up after school and Marinette would head off with the band. It was a little weirder when – the day Marinette was supposed to meet Jagged Stone after school – Luka showed up again and she took him home. After a week of watching Marinette not freak around Adrien, Alya knew it was still weird when Luka showed up again and they went off alone. Marinette tripped as she ran to meet him, stumbling down the last few steps, and Luka caught her easily. He was familiar with her, Alya noticed, and Marinette laughed as she lingered in his arms maybe a bit longer than was appropriate. Her face turned red, and Alya could see her stuttering around whatever she was saying.

Marinette had found a new statue, it seemed.

Alya didn't think she liked that.

– V –

Lila was a good friend.

She was always ready to lend an ear or a shoulder, especially over the past few weeks when Marinette was too busy to. She also didn't mind spending time with the Kids, which helped when Marinette couldn't and Alya and Nino still really wanted to go out. That was what Lila was doing there now, though she had come early to help Alya get ready. She was laying on Alya's bed, flipping through a magazine, as Alya paced before her.

"And she won't even talk to me about it!" she cried, throwing her arms up in frustration. "I get that we've both been busy, but I'm her best friend! Don't I deserve to know if she's going to start randomly liking someone else?!"

"I'm sure she doesn't actually mean anything by it," Lila said sympathetically. Alya sat in her computer chair and spun in an angry circle.

"But that's just it! Like…I'd be cool with it if she wasn't wrong!" she huffed. "Her and Adrien are meant to be – I know it! She knows it! _Juleka_ knows it – so what the hell is Jules doing, introducing her to her brother like that?!"

"Well, they met at the music festival, right? I'd heard the Kitty Section concert was an open invitation to everyone in the class," Lila pointed out. "It's not like Juleka intentionally invited just Marinette just to introduce them."

"But she hasn't done anything to deter the crush, either!" Alya snapped. "All that time wasted on harebrained plots to set them up! All that effort wasted! Juleka should be as mad as I am!"

"She might be," Lila said, and Alya snorted. If Juleka was, she certainly hadn't been showing it.

"I just…ugh! She's been in love with him _forever_, and now she gets the barest hint of attention from some other guy and she gives up? I don't get it, Lila!" Alya moaned. She flopped back in her chair and spun another circle, this one less angry and more despondent. Lila frowned and sat up, putting her magazine aside.

"Well…I do," she said simply. Alya raised her head and lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Excuse me?" she asked. Lila shrugged, glancing at where she'd left her magazine open on the latest Gabriel ad.

"Well…I don't want to speak out of turn – Marinette's a really sweet girl, and I'd hate to assume the worst of her, but…well, she wants to be a designer, doesn't she?" Lila asked. Alya's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with –?" she started to ask, but Lila sighed heavily to cut her off. Dramatically.

"Well, _obviously_ Marinette never actually _liked_ Adrien," she tutted. "She was probably hoping that getting close to Adrien would give her an in with his father."

…what.

Alya's train of thought didn't just come to a screeching halt. It hit its brakes so hard the caboose flipped and crashed into the cab, sparking an explosion that left it a smoldering heap in her mind. Her jaw dropped as she stared at Lila, her eyes blinking like a fish. She had never doubted Lila's judgment before, but that…the _gall_…who the hell did she think she was? She didn't even know Marinette! Yes, that wasn't entirely her fault (Marinette had been weird around Lila from the beginning and never really gave the new girl a chance to get to know her), but that didn't mean she could go around saying such asinine bull about her best friend! Marinette would _never_ do something like that – especially when Gabriel Agreste had noticed her all on his own quite a few times on her merit alone!

"I'm just saying," Lila continued as if Alya wasn't throwing an aneurysm right in front of her. "It does seem weird that she would so easily quit on someone she's supposedly _loved_ for so long. Maybe she never actually loved him in the first place."

"Adrienette is destiny, and you are full-on crazy," Alya spat. She grabbed her phone to text Nino. "I'm sorry, Lila, but I don't think I'm going to meet Nino, anyway. You can go home now."

"But –" Lila protested, but Alya just glared at her.

"Marinette is my best friend, Lila," she said. "I think I know her a little bit better than that."

Lila scoffed and tossed the magazine to the floor as she stood.

"Fine," she said primly. Alya wasn't really sorry to see her go.

– V –

It worked out in the end, anyway. Nora came back from practice early, and she was able to watch Ella and Etta. Nino and Alya were halfway to the theater, and Alya had spent their entire walk ranting.

Nino felt like she had been ranting a lot lately.

"I mean can you believe her?" she asked, stuffing her hands deeper into the pouch of her hoodie. Nino suspected they were balled into fists. "Saying that shit like she actually knows Marinette! Yeah, Marinette doesn't like her and doesn't want to be her friend, but she's never been hostile towards her!"

Nino gave her a look, and Alya rolled her eyes.

"Well not _openly_ hostile!" she huffed. Yes, Marinette had tried to tell them Lila was untrustworthy. Yes, she'd warned them to be careful around her. But Marinette was always polite in her dealings with Lila, even if it was obvious she didn't like her.

They walked a few minutes in silence, during which Alya seemed to visibly deflate. Nino sighed and nudged her arm, pulling a hand from her pocket so he could hold it.

"What's up, babe?" he asked. "What's really got you going?"

"Am I a bad friend, Nino?" she asked. Compared to the volume her voice had been during her rant, the quiet tone was jarring.

"What? No! Of course not! Babe, you're the best!" he quickly defended her. She rolled her eyes, a fond smile on her face.

"Well, yeah, _you_ think that," she said, "but really. I just…I don't want Mari to give up on her dreams."

"Maybe she's not," Nino said, shrugging. "Maybe she just found a new dream. Y'know, like when I found you?"

Alya smiled, remembering Nino and Marinette's disastrous first (only) date that had resulted in her and Nino getting together.

"You're such a dork, babe," she said. He kissed her cheek.

"And you love it."

– V –

Alya had never been one to quit, though. Especially when she was passionate about something.

Which is what found her gawking at Marinette the next week. Her mouth worked soundlessly as she tried to come up with something – _anything_ – to convince her friend to join them, but ultimately what came out was: "Girl! Come on!"

Adrien had been tied up with work for almost three weeks now, and after countless cancelled plans he finally had a free night. His friends were used to it – the perks of being friends of a famous teen with a controlling parent – but he still felt bad, so he had invited them out for ice cream. His treat. Marinette had left school with Luka _again_ before Adrien could invite her, so before heading to fencing practice he had asked Alya to pass the invitation along. When Alya had finally tracked her down (at the Liberty, _again_), she had told her _no_.

"I'm sorry, Alya," Marinette sighed, but Alya just shook her head.

"I can't…you…girl, Adrien asked for _you_ specifically! You can't blow this!" she cried. Marinette frowned at her, glancing back to where Luka stood behind her. There was something in his hand – tickets? Alya couldn't really read the look on his face. He seemed...reserved. On the brink of disappointment, but resigned. The phrase 'brave face' came to mind.

"Alya, that's really sweet, but I told you I already made plans," Marinette sighed. Alya groaned and reached out, grabbing her arms and shaking slightly. Luka's face seemed to tighten at the gesture, but Alya ignored him.

"He! Asked! For! You! Specifically!" she said, enunciating each word with a little shake. She looked up at her, frowning. "This is your chance, girl! You've been waiting for this for _years!"_

"You said that the last ten times, Alya," Marinette sighed. She grasped Alya's wrists and removed her hands from her arms. "It's really sweet of him to think of me, but I can't. Please tell him I'm sorry."

"Mari, it's fine," Luka said, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder. Alya glared at him, but his gaze was focused on Marinette. He was smiling, but Alya could tell it wasn't entirely genuine. "There'll be other shows. If you want to go with Adrien –"

"But I don't, though!" Marinette insisted, cutting him off. Alya nearly choked on her tongue at that, but Marinette was no longer paying her any mind. She turned to face him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. "…I don't want to go with Adrien, Luka. I want to go with you."

"Marinette…" he breathed. There was a look in his eyes that Alya would call hope if it hadn't meant the sinking of her favorite ship. "Are you sure?"

"I want to go with you," she said again, firmer. Alya couldn't believe what she was hearing. Marinette turned back to her, an apologetic smile on her face. "Alya, I'm sorry, but…Luka got these tickets weeks ago, and…I want to spend time with him. You understand, don't you?"

No, she didn't.

"I wouldn't ask you to cancel on Nino," Marinette added. Alya wondered how her friend could look so calm about this when she felt like her own heart was breaking.

"…you really are over him, aren't you?" she sighed. Marinette squeezed Luka's hand again.

"It was just a crush," she said, and the way she said it let Alya know she really believed it. "He loves someone else, Alya, and…I think I do, too."

She smiled at Luka when she said it, and he smiled back. Alya had to admit: Adrien never looked at Marinette the way Luka was looking at her now, and Marinette had never been as at ease around Adrien as she was around Luka. They seemed more natural. More right. And she wanted to be happy for her girl, she did, but…she hated it. Marinette belonged with Adrien, not Luka. She…

"Ok, girl," she sighed, hanging her head. She forced her best smile on her face before looking up again. "If you're sure."

"I am," Marinette said quickly.

"If you're happy," Alya continued. Marinette glanced up at Luka, her cheeks staining pink. Her other hand came up to rest on his arm, and this time he squeezed her hand.

"I am," she said again, and Alya sighed, resigned.

"Ok. I'll let him know you can't make it," she said. She walked away, and by the time she reached the spot where she had left Nino waiting her stomach was twisted and her eyes stung. He frowned as he reached out for her.

"Babe?" he asked, softly, and she shook her head.

"She's not coming," she said. She looked up at Nino, her face crumpling. "She…she found a new dream."

She wanted her best friend to be happy. She wanted Nino's best friend to be happy. Was it too much to ask that they be happy together?

Something was rotten in Françoise Dupont.

Alya was pretty sure it was her heart.


	10. Aug 14: Fairy Tale

**14 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Fairy Tale (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ Selkie AU, so TBW. Selkies aren't made for staying, mates. Theirs is a song of farewell._

_Let it be dark in this endless caravan_

_Rocked by lighting, striking metal in the sand_

_I'm miles from common sense, as welcome as the rain_

_So close to madness that I even know her name_

_Lay your lover's hands upon me, let me understand you know_

_Lay your lover's hand upon me, let me go…_

"_Lover's Hands" – Alan Doyle_

The storms had been bad that year.

They usually were, but they were a bit worse that spring. The town hadn't seen a sunny day in a month. Most ships had stayed moored, unable to navigate the choppy waters. Homes were flooding, and just last week little Rosie McCann had been swept away in a mudslide. Those were bad days for the town.

Luka had known that going out, but there was a reason the townspeople referred to him as _Old Mad Luke_ (even though he was barely twenty and still looked younger). Another wave hit the prow, and he grit his teeth as his ship tilted precariously. He tightened his grip on the wheel and heaved, but another wave sent it spinning from his hands. He gave a shout as the next wave splashed over him, sending him sprawling against the rail.

His lungs burned with the wind and the brine, but he was determined to make port. He could see the town just beyond the break, the lighthouse shining on the cliffs, and knew he was almost home. He heard his crew – three men, the only survivors of the eight he had set out with – screaming from the bow.

"Hold steady!" he called above the roar of the storm. "Hold –!"

Another wave knocked his feet out from under him. The next listed the ship to a dangerous angle, and the one after that swept him over the rail and into the sea.

– V –

He woke up in a cave, wrapped tightly in a blanket as his clothes dried by a fire. The storm still raged outside: he could hear the driving rain echoing against the rock, the crashing waves against the beach. The fire was small but drove away the damp, and the blanket he'd been wrapped in, though small, drove away the chill. His eyes opened, and he froze in bemused wonder at the girl sitting across from him. She was illuminated by the flames, painted warm orangey-red in its glow, but he found it too easy to get lost in the endless black of her eyes. They watched him, wide and unblinking, and he felt he was drowning all over again.

That was the first time Luka met Marinette.

She was awkward and sweet, skittish but kind. She danced around him like he was a predator and she was afraid that any misstep would leave her trapped in his wake. She'd found him on the rocks, she said. He was unconscious, washed up from the storm, and she had brought him here because the weather was turning again and she'd been afraid she wouldn't make it to town before the skies opened. She'd started the fire and set his clothes to dry so he wouldn't get sick. She'd given him the blanket for the same reason.

She had salt fish in her pack, and they ate as they waited out the storm. She lived nearby, she claimed, though he had never seen her in town. Her family was reclusive, she said. He told her he'd been born to a family of fishermen on the docks. His father had been claimed by the sea when he was just a lad, and his mother had gone mad not long after. She struck out to sea one day, and neither he nor his sister had seen her since. They heard tales, though. It was said Anarka Couffaine now sailed under the moniker Captain Hardrock, though he refused to tell her where the name came from. (She could only imagine. She was of the sea, just like everyone in their small town, and stories of the fierce pirate who scuttled her enemies' ships and bodies on the rocks had reached every port.)

She turned her back as he dressed, and when he was finished he stepped up to her and draped her blanket – more of a shawl, really – across her shoulders. It was soft, and warm, and she shivered as he ran his hands down her arms along the fabric.

"Thank you, Ma-Ma-Marinette," he said, mimicking the way she had stumbled over her own name during their introductions.

"You're very welcome," she whispered as she turned. She raised her head to meet his gaze, and he was lost. He brought a hand up to brush against her cheek, back to get lost in her hair, and neither were sure who leaned in first. All Luka knew was that he would have been happy to stay in that cave with her, but the storm was weakening and it was a long walk back to town. His sister was awaiting his return.

Marinette walked him home, and he kissed her again when they reached his door. He watched her walk away, her shawl shielding her from the light rain, and realized he'd lost his heart when he was lost at sea.

– V –

The next time he saw her was at the market. The weather had finally broken, and the streets were filled with people eager to just be out. He was there for supplies, the Liberty still needing repairs after his last foolhardy run, when he turned and she was there. Her shawl was wrapped around her shoulders tightly, covering her freckled skin from the sun. In the sun, her hair glinted blue like midnight waters. Her eyes – so black in the cave – were a cooler blue, an icy current that pulled you down.

They spent the afternoon walking along the stalls. He bought her lunch at the pub, where he was pulled into an impromptu seisiún with Ivan and Rose. Marinette watched from their table, laughing in delight as Rose's high voice rang out over the crowd. She sang a local fare about mermaids and a sailor losing his heart, which led to another about Mary Mac, which led to another about seven drunken nights, and then the one she'd written about the town cat, and on and on. The next song ended, and before he could be pulled into another he leapt over to her, high on the energy pulsing through the pub. He kissed her in front of the town, drank the joy from her lips, and as she wrapped her arms around him he thought she tasted like the sea, like freedom, like home.

– V –

His sister loved her. Juleka didn't love anyone (except Rose, and sometimes Ivan).

He loved her. It didn't take him long to realize that, amidst walks along the rocks by the sea and moonlit dances on rain-slicked streets. She fit in his life, like a piece to a puzzle he hadn't realized he'd been missing. They were barely halfway through summer before he asked her – begged her – to marry him. He knelt on the grass by the lighthouse, a ring studded with a simple pearl held up to her, and his breath caught as he waited for an answer. Her eyes darted towards the sea below, an uncertainty lingering in their depths, but when she nodded any hesitance disappeared.

He jumped to his feet and pulled her close, and as he kissed her her shawl fell from her shoulders. She shivered in his arms when it did, but thinking she was merely cold he held her tighter. He lifted her and spun them around, the shawl forgotten by their feet, their laughter carried away on an ocean breeze.

– V –

Her wedding present was a locked chest, ornately decorated with a swirling tide. He was confused when she pressed it into his hands, but she just smiled.

"It's my heart," she said cryptically. She leaned over the box to press a kiss to his lips. "Keep it safe."

He vowed he always would.

– V –

And they were happy, for a time. As they grew closer. As their family grew. First Juleka left to live with Rose, and then Marinette got pregnant. And then, a year later, pregnant again. The years flew by like gulls on the wind, and they were happy.

He thought they were happy.

But it happened, on cloudy days. Her eyes would drift out the window, her gaze lingering a bit too long on the sea. He'd sing her a song as they danced beneath the stars, and she'd hum along with a melancholy that cracked the heart. She'd shiver in the dead of summer, and no shawl, coat, nor blanket seemed able to chase away the chill. She would take their children down to the rocks, where the seals would play on the warmer days, and they'd be gone for hours as she told the wains tale after tale. Every time they came back she was a little more distant than before, and every time he feared the next would be the last.

"I love you," he whispered fiercely one night. They lay in their bed, tangled in the other, but while his eyes were tracing the constellation of freckles dusting her skin her eyes stayed on the shimmer of the sea just beyond the window.

"I love you," she said, and he believed the words, but he felt in his bones there was something she loved more.

– V –

He had forgotten about the chest.

He had locked it away, as she had asked him, and as the years passed he had simply…forgot.

Until he returned from sea one day and found it on the kitchen table, unlocked and unassuming and empty. His daughter sat at the table, drawing, while his son banged away on the bodhrán Ivan had given him for his fifth birthday.

"Where's your Mama, Celia?" he asked, ruffling her dark hair.

"Gone," she said, as if Marinette wasn't supposed to be anyway else.

And she was.

She was gone.

– V –

Juleka and Rose moved back home, to help with the children. No one ever saw Marinette again. The children still played by the sea, on the days the seals came up. If there was a dark gray seal with endless eyes that came closer to them than the others, no one ever said anything. If there were days when Luka would walk along the beach and see the same seal, if it seemed to follow him as he made his way back to the Liberty, he never noticed.

– V –

Because Marinette loved Luka. She loved their children.

There was just…something else she loved, too. Not more. Not necessarily.

But when her son had knocked the chest to the floor as he reached for his birthday present, when the hinges hit the stone and cracked and her old shawl had spilled out, she remembered.

Marinette loved Luka.

Her shawl wrapped as tightly as a second skin around her shoulders as she made the walk to the rocks where the seals would play felt like one of his hugs. The barking of the seals, a low song beckoning her ever closer, felt like his voice singing just for her in the private moments. The water lapping at her ankles felt like coming home.

And Marinette loved Luka.

She did.

She just…


	11. Aug 15: First Time

**15 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__First Time (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Lila Rossi/Luka Couffaine (…?)_

_**Rating: **__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ Luka serenades…Lila? What? So fun fact: this was going to be a short little shitpost about Luka helping Mari babysit Ella and Etta, and the twins won't stop spazzing, so he sings to calm them down and the first time Mari hears Luka sing it's BABY SHARK. Then I had a day of running errands with ATL and FOB blaring and this happened. (I dunno. I'd say I feel Luka's a bit OOC here, but the entire fucking class gets OOC when Lila's involved, so eh. I just had fun.)_

_**The Playlist: **__"Hum Hallelujah" – Fall Out Boy; "That Girl" – All Time Low; "Favorite Record" – Fall Out Boy_

Marinette couldn't breathe. Her chest felt tight. Her eyes burned with tears she refused to shed. Her face was warm with a furious blush. Her stomach had settled somewhere around her ankles.

She had never heard Luka sing before. Sure, he'd played for her countless times, but this was the first time she was actually hearing him sing.

And he was singing for _her_.

– V –

"We have a special treat for everyone tonight!" Rose cried into the microphone. Their gathered friends and classmates cheered and clapped. "I'm sure you've all heard by now about the _special girl_ that was so _instrumental_ in securing our record deal!"

Rose winked at the crowd gathered on deck, and it was…odd. Marinette felt her stomach flipping, because while Alya nudged her shoulder and grinned most heads turned towards Lila, who was demurely staring at her feet like the attention was too much for her. On the other side of the ship, Adrien frowned as he spoke with Nino. And Marinette was just…confused. She didn't even know how she had found herself here tonight.

Because Jagged Stone had heard about the nightmare that was the mess with Bob Roth. He had cut all ties with the exec, and in the weeks following Kitty Section's performance had started his own label ("What, like it's hard?") – and he'd wanted Kitty Section to be his flagship ("They're totally rock-n-roll!"). He hadn't stopped gushing about them the entire time he had met with Marinette to discuss the jacket he wanted for the press release ("Something snazzy and new, really _rock-n-roll_ – you get me, right, Marinette?"), and when he'd spotted the familiar unicorn cat tee shirt on her mannequin he had flipped. Introductions had been made shortly after, and after parents had reviewed contracts…they were signed.

But Kitty Section had been keeping a low profile since the TV performance. True, they had invited the class to the ship for the music festival all those months ago, but not everyone had shown up. Once they'd started wearing the masks, they all felt it would be better for their private lives to keep the anonymity. So yeah, most of the class knew Juleka, Rose, and Ivan were in a band, but not everyone realized that band was _Kitty Section._ And, due to legalities, they were still trying to keep a low profile before Jagged's official announcement next month – but they had wanted to celebrate. So they had invited their friends over to the ship again, saying the band had gotten some good news and wanted to have a party. Maybe play a few songs. It was all supposed to be very laid-back, low-key, no masks or costumes…just a band celebrating their big break with their friends.

But somehow between Monday and Friday it had gotten out that Lila Rossi was close, personal friends with all the members of Kitty Section. She had been the one at the studio who had called Bob Roth on stealing their work. She had made the phone call to Jagged, being such _close friends_ with him, knowing he'd love the quirky new band. The lead guitarist was even in love with her!

And Marinette had sat back in horror as Lila spun her lies. Because none of it was true, and everyone in their class – especially Rose, Juleka, and Ivan! – should know better. Because everyone was still eating out of the palm of her hand, and Marinette had promised Adrien she wouldn't rat Lila out. She had actively avoided Lila – which hadn't really been a problem, given her busy schedule – just so she wouldn't snap at her lies. But this…this…

"Well, he didn't want me to say anything – you know, to protect the band's privacy and keep me safe from paparazzi, but I know I can trust all of _you_," Lila had said before class Friday morning. "But he's asked me to be his girlfriend and everything! We're so in love!"

And that's what hurt the most, because Marinette knew it was a lie, but the idea that Luka would love someone like _Lila_…

She had tried to escape the classroom, needing a moment just to collect herself, when Juleka had grabbed her wrist.

"Hey," she'd mumbled, tugging to get her attention. If Marinette had bothered looking she might have seen how furious the band looked. "You're still coming over tonight, right? Help us set up?"

"Oooh, oooh, we could have a sleepover!" Rose cheered. "Please, Marinette? It won't be the same without our fifth member!"

She had smiled weakly at them, promised she'd be there, and made her escape.

They had discussed Lila at length the night before the party. Luka had laughed so hard he'd cried when Juleka told him about his _new girlfriend_, but the laughter had immediately stopped when he saw the look on Marinette's face. She'd excused herself to help Rose grab something below deck, and suddenly Luka hadn't found the story very funny anymore. The subject of Lila had dropped – at least while Marinette was around – and Marinette had _almost_ forgotten about it.

Until Lila had shown up with Alya, Nino, and Adrien.

And now _this._

"We wanted to give a _big thanks_ to _Lila Rossi_ – this wouldn't be possible without you!" Rose continued, smiling brightly at the blushing girl. Marinette's stomach flipped again. "So we've arranged a special treat, just for you! Luka, I think there was something you wanted to say to your _girlfriend?"_

It had to be a joke. It had to be.

Because Luka was smiling warmly at Lila as he stepped up to the mic. As he strummed a few chords and said how he just couldn't hold back his feelings anymore. How he wanted _everyone_ to know how captivated he'd been by her from the moment they met at the TVi studio, where she had helped his band – _Kitty Section_ – so much. So he had a song, just for her, and he was rubbish with words, but he hoped she understood what he wanted to say.

And Marinette wanted to cry. She had never heard Luka sing before. And now he was singing for _Lila_.

"Hum hallelujah," Luka sang, low and uncertain. He strummed a few more chords, as if he was trying to find the right key. "Just off the key of reason – I thought I loved you. It was just how you looked in the light…"

His voice was beautiful. It was low, almost a bass but still a baritone, and it broke Marinette's heart. She knew he wasn't good with words, but hearing him sing was wonderful, and she found herself wishing he would sing more. But she couldn't shake the thought that this was all for _Lila_, and that killed her.

"…I'm sorry," Luka suddenly said, cutting off the song. He shook his head and chuckled ruefully. "You know what? This just isn't working. Hey, Ivan, can I get a beat?"

Ivan looked downright _evil_ when he grinned that way, but he tapped Luka out, and then the stage _exploded_.

"What am I supposed to do? Uh-oh! When she's so damn cold, like twenty below?" Luka belted into the mic, stunning the crowd into silence. "That girl, that girl, she's such a _bitch!"_

Lila _shrieked_.

"But I tell myself I can handle it!" Ivan and Luka sang together, and Marinette choked when Luka tossed her a wink. He looked back to Lila – who, Marinette finally noticed, had turned a sickly shade of green – and grinned. He continued singing about a guy who had moved to California and fallen in love with a girl who clearly didn't love him back, and the insults peppered throughout the verse were sung a bit more sharply: she's like good cocaine, numb as Novocain, beautiful but cold as ice. Juleka joined in on the second chorus, and Rose jumped in with harmonies until the entire band was on stage just…blasting Lila.

"That girl, that girl, she's such a bitch!" Luka sang, pointing directly at Lila with a withering glare. "Don't think I should have to handle it!"

Marinette bit her lip to hide her smile when he winked at her again. Alya snorted and nudged her shoulder again, and they shared a grin.

"Sit around waiting for the spark to fade – you can add another face to your pity parade! I can't believe it – I've never felt so cheated!" Ivan sang, and Luka dropped to his knees, bending back dramatically.

"Knock me down – it was all pretend! You set me back up just to do it again," he sang, a hand pressed to his forehead like he was about to faint. He sat up and shrugged. "You say love's overrated – I say it's complicated! So what am I supposed to do, uh-oh, when she's so damn cold, like twenty below? That girl, that girl –"

"SHE'S SUCH A BITCH!" the entire band screamed into their mics. Their classmates – minus an Italian ambassador's daughter, of course – screamed with them. Lila shrank back against the railing, but Kim had placed himself behind her to block her exit. He shot her a dark look, and she found herself spiraling. How had everything gotten so out of hand so quickly?

"Hey, Lila!" Luka called as the song ended. She gulped and looked back to the stage. He had his middle finger raised tall and proud in her direction. "Consider yourself dumped. Get off my boat."

She ran off crying. Marinette tried not to laugh.

"Not really sorry about that, guys," Luka said when some of the cheers had died down, "but…I don't really like liars, and I think you all found out she's a pretty big one."

"But we did really have a surprise for the girl who actually did help us!" Rose squealed, running up to Luka and grabbing the mic from him. He smiled and fiddled with his guitar, tuning it as she took over. "Marinette, I'm so sorry we all kept believing Lila, even after you told us she wasn't being honest with us. I know I already told most of you yesterday, but Marinette is our actual fifth member! She made our masks and costumes, and has been such a help, and she's the one who introduced us to the label! You're totally a kitticorn in my book, Mari!"

"Go Marinette!"

"You're the best, girl!"

"Our Everyday Ladybug!"

Marinette covered her burning face with her hands, smiling as her friends – her _friends_ – cheered for her. She wasn't even sure what had happened – she had thought they all still sided with Lila, and yet…

"Rose found us yesterday," Alya whispered to her, squeezing her shoulders. A gesture of solidarity. "We were all a little suspicious when Lila started going on about Kitty Section, but then Rose called her out, and well…girl, I'm sorry. You were right. Things didn't add up with Lila, and I should have trusted you."

Marinette's smile was shaky as she looked up at her best friend, but Luka's voice pulled her attention back to the stage before anything more could be said.

"And Mari? It's a little public, and I hope you don't mind, but it didn't seem fair that Lila got a song and you didn't. I mean, if I'm supposed to be serenading the _girl I love_," he said with a gentle roll of his eyes, and her breath caught in her throat as he started playing again. He didn't look away from her as he began to sing. "Do, you do, do you remember when we drove, we drove, drove through the night? And we danced, we danced to Rancid, and we danced, we danced?"

The other members of the band stood to the side as he strummed out a slow, upbeat tune. She was barely aware of Rose grinning at her and shooting her a thumbs up, of the smirk on Alya's face as she nudged her shoulder. Her eyes were locked on Luka as he sang just for her.

"You were the song stuck in my head – every song that I've ever loved. Played again and again and again – and you can get what you want, but it's never enough," he sang. "And I spin for you like your favorite records used to. Woah, oh, oh, oh…yeah, I spin for you like your favorite records used to…"

Later, as the party was winding down, she sat with Luka by the railing of the bow. He strummed absently on his guitar as she leaned against him, her eyes closed as she just enjoyed his presence and his music.

"I like your singing," she finally said, peeking up at him. He kept looking at his guitar, but he smiled at her compliment. It was getting dark, and she wasn't certain, but she thought he was blushing, too. "Really. You should sing more."

"Jagged said the same thing," he said absently. "We're kicking a few songs around for the EP where Rose and I share vocals. More harmonies with the others. Did you hear Ivan? He can really belt."

She giggled, and he grinned at her.

"I meant it, Mari," he said, making her pause. "I…I was going to sing for you anyway, but when Juleka told me about what that girl was saying…I couldn't stand by while she hurt you. You're too important for that."

"Luka…"

"I know you still have feelings for someone else," Luka continued, looking back at his guitar, "and that's fine. It is. I just…I couldn't stand to see you hurt."

They lapsed back into an easy silence. Marinette smiled as she snuggled closer to him, and if she thought about it…if she really thought about…she wasn't so sure she had feelings for someone else anymore. She had already been thinking it, but if tonight had done anything it had proven that. _Someone else_ never stood up for her in front of Lila. _Someone else_ was just going to let Lila continue to get her way.

Maybe, she thought, _maybe _she deserved better than that. Maybe she deserved someone who would actually fight for her. Someone who actually cared about her as more than _just a friend_.

"Hey…Luka?" she asked after another moment. He hummed in response, and she smiled as her eyes closed peacefully. "Can you sing for me again? Please?"

"…anything for you, Mari," he said. He strummed a few more chords before settling on a song, and he whistled cheerfully before singing: "…that girl, that girl, she's such a bitch!"

Marinette snorted so hard it hurt and collapsed against his side. His playing cut off discordantly as their peace dissolved into a fit of giggles, and when Marinette looked back up at his grin she started laughing all over again.

Yes, she thought as he switched into a slower song – a sweeter song, about love and happiness and every feeling she currently felt bubbling inside – those feelings for _someone else_ weren't there at all.

She just felt love, happiness, _peace_ for Luka.


	12. Aug 18: Poetry

**18 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Poetry (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Adrien Agreste, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ S3-ish with references to Dark Cupid. Adrien's the type of guy who reads Romeo & Juliet and sees the love story. Marinette's the type of girl who can appreciate the love story but knows everything would've been better if Romeo just kept it in his pants. (Which is why, honestly, I think Marinette's going to move on from Adrien well before Adrien moves on from Ladybug. Plus I'm totally here for the drama that is Adrien Not Dealing Well – I've got novels to say on that little gem.)_

_Underneath my outside face_

_There's a face that none can see._

_A little less smiley,_

_A little less sure,_

_But a whole lot more like me._

"_Underface" – Shel Silverstein_

Adrien Agreste – Chat Noir – was a romantic. An argument could be made that he was a bit of a _hopeless_ romantic, but he preferred to say he was stubbornly persistent. _Delusional_, a certain spotted superhero might argue. It was just that he had hope, and he didn't like giving up on that hope. Not when something as serious as a soulmate was on the line.

(Because he was the type of romantic that believed in soulmates and destiny, the yins to yangs, the Ladybugs to Chat Noirs. He was hopeless that way.)

He was also the type of romantic that believed in grand gestures and the power of Valentine's Day. It was why he had agonized over writing the _perfect_ poem for the _perfect_ card the year before, and even if he had thrown it out, dissatisfied with his ability to convey his feelings through poetry, it had still found its way to his Lady. Well. That's what he chose to believe, anyway. He had received a Valentine's reply to his poem, after all, so _someone_ had to have found it. And, because he was the type to believe in soulmates, when that ladybug had landed on the unsigned card…well, _clearly_ that meant it was from his Lady, right?

(Plagg had scoffed at that reasoning, but Plagg scoffed at anything _sentimental_ and _mushy_ – unless it was a good, mushy cheese. He was nuts about those.)

This year, Adrien decided, was going to be different. He had spent the entire previous year working on a new poem, and he had set up another romantic rooftop rendezvous, and he was going to recite his poem, and Ladybug was finally going to realize she loved him, and they'd confide their identities in each other, and run off to a private island, and get married, and raise a hamster –

…ok. First things first. He had to actually get her to meet him on Valentine's Day.

Which wasn't going to be a problem. Of course not! Ladybug loved him – of course she'd want to meet on Valentine's Day! It's not like she'd have plans or anything, right?

He groaned and stopped his pacing, reaching up to tug on his hair and cat ears. Why was love so _hard?_ He hadn't thought it was supposed to be this hard!

"Minou? Are you ok?"

He leapt a foot in the air, squeaking as he whirled around to find Ladybug behind him.

"Bugaboo! Of course! Why do you ask? I'm fine!" he laughed nervously. She smiled fondly, but she didn't look convinced. She sat on the patch of roof beside where he'd spent the better part of the past twenty minutes pacing and patted the spot beside her.

He sighed and took a seat, and she nudged his shoulder.

"Spill," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Promise!" he laughed. He grinned and nudged her shoulder back. "Sooo…tomorrow's kind of a big day."

Her cheeks turned as scarlet as her suit.

"It's just Valentine's Day," she mumbled. He laughed loudly – practically crowed – and clapped his hands in delight.

"Oh, but it's _Valentine's Day!_ In _Paris!_ The most romantic day of the year in the most romantic city in the world!" he cried. He dipped his head and waggled his eyebrows. "A day for true love, my Lady."

She snorted and looked back out to the city. She could see the Seine from their vantage point, and if she followed its course…

"At least you didn't quote _Princess Bride_ this time," she scoffed.

"It's a classic!" he cried, personally offended. It was one of his favorite movies, after all.

"It's a cheese fest," she tutted. She paused, then grinned at him. "Of course you love it. Your kwami's favorite food is cheese, after all."

"My point, Bugaboo, is that it's Valentine's Day," he said a little louder than necessary, hoping to reel the conversation back in. They were getting nowhere like this.

"All right, all right," she chuckled, shaking her head. "If I'm honest I am kinda looking forward to it this year. It's the first time I'm going to have a boyfriend on Valentine's."

"Exactly! See? It's…wait, what?" he asked, jerking his head towards her. He could not have heard that right. There was no way. Ladybug would have said…

Her eyes had gone wide as she stared back at him, seeming to realize her mistake.

"Oh, Chat, I…I didn't mean…I'm so sorry," she sighed, wincing as she looked away.

"S-so! Boyfriend, huh? That's…that's…new," he said slowly, as if he was trying to chew a particularly tough piece of meat. Digest the information. Wrap his mind around…boyfriend?

…in all fairness, she had told him there was someone else.

"It's…new," she said softly, and while she looked like she regretted him finding out this way, she didn't look like she regretted the…boyfriend. "Like…_new_ new. Barely a month."

"Is it…that guy, the one you'd mentioned before?" he asked, and he hoped his voice didn't sound as thick as it felt. Like he was choking on tears.

"No," she said, shaking her head. Her smile looked like his voice felt. "That…that other guy and me, we're just friends. It took me a while to realize that. My boyfriend is…someone else I know. He knew the other guy, you know. He's been really great about…there was a date. Only it wasn't a date. But it was kind of a date? Anyway. It was bad, and it made me realize some things. About who was there and who wasn't. About who I actually cared about and how much. And now I have a boyfriend, and we're taking it slow, and I'm really happy, and…tomorrow's Valentine's Day."

"So you have plans," Chat said, trying to smile. She nodded.

"I have plans," she confirmed. She bit her lip and looked away from him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Chat. I just thought…well, the less we know about each other the better, and…I know you still like me, so I figured it would be kinder to not…y'know…flaunt the relationship."

"No," he said, smiling weakly. "You're right. I'm happy for you, m'Lady. He's a lucky guy."

Her smile was beautiful. Enough to break a heart.

"No," she hummed, running her fingers against her wrist, like she was tracing a bracelet or something, "I'm the lucky one."

And Chat Noir could only smile as he looked back to the city below because yeah, she was.

– V –

Adrien spent twenty minutes in front of his bathroom mirror the morning of Valentine's Day trying to remember how to smile.

He was a professional model. Smiling should come as second nature. He was just…having a little trouble with it that morning.

It was a little easier when he walked into class and saw Alya and Nino sitting next to each other, making goo-goo eyes at each other. He slid into the empty seat next to Marinette – his usual seat, as Nino had taken hers – and smiled, and the smile was a little easier than it had been the rest of the morning.

"Good morning, Marinette," he said. He tried to sound happy, or at the least polite. "Happy Valentine's Day."

She looked up from her phone and smiled. Her cheeks were pink – pinker than usual.

"Happy Valentine's Day," she said with a warm smile. He liked her smile. She reached into the bag he hadn't noticed by her side and handed him a pink box. "For you."

"Me? Really? Thanks, Marinette!" he said. His heartache was momentarily forgotten as he opened the box to find a collection of handmade chocolates. He took a bite of one and nearly died – they were delicious! "Oh, wow, they're amazing! Thank you!"

"It's nothing, really," she said with a smile. Alya snorted.

"Yeah, these are nothing," she said as she leaned over the desk, waving her own box in Adrien's face. A quick glance around showed that matching boxes were on everyone's desk – even by Lila. He smiled at Marinette, proud of her for that. "But I wonder what you made for _Lu-ka?_"

Marinette's face went from pink to Ladybug Red in less than a second. She glanced back at her phone, biting her lip in a little smile, and Adrien felt something clench in his stomach. Chest. Stomachy-chest.

"Cut it out, Alya," Marinette sighed. "I didn't do anything too special."

"He's still taking you out for dinner," Alya teased, poking her side. Adrien frowned at that. Why was _Luka_ taking _Marinette_ out to dinner on _Valentine's Day_?

"It's our first Valentine's," Marinette mumbled. Alya's grin turned wicked, but Adrien felt that clenchy feeling in his stomach-chest again. Their first Valentine's? As in…together? Like a couple?

…when had Marinette and Luka become a thing? How had he missed that?

"So did you write him a poem?" she asked. It was enough to pull him out of his mini-spiral, and he raised his eyebrows at her. He didn't know Marinette liked poetry, either.

"You write poetry, Marinette?" he asked. He frowned when her entire body seemed to convulse and she started choking.

"W-what?! No! Hate it!" she laughed, shaking her head furiously. She hesitated before shrugging. "It's…I'm impartial. Poetry is nice, I guess. I've never given it much thought?"

Alya snorted, and Marinette shot her a look.

"I didn't write Luka a _poem_, Alya," she said. She smiled, glancing back at her phone as it lit up again. Adrien barely saw the lockscreen before she grabbed it – it was a picture of Luka and Marinette, posing for a selfie with Luka's lips pressed to her cheek. Something clenched at that, too. "I made him a hat. And some chocolate. No big."

"I'm just teasing," Alya said, nudging her again. She glanced up from her phone and smiled, and Alya, sensing her friend was going to be distracted for a while, turned back to Adrien. "What about you, Agreste? Any plans?"

He thought about the poem he had spent the past year perfecting.

He thought about the box of candles and roses and chocolates that was sitting in the corner of his room.

He thought about Ladybug, smiling like Marinette was smiling at her phone as she talked about her _boyfriend_.

"Of course not, Alya," he said with a perfect Model Smile and forced laugh. "It's Valentine's Day. Why would I have plans?"


	13. Aug 19: Mythology

**19 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Mythology (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen (because Zeus has a Penis)_

_**Notes:**__ College-age; pure fluff & silliness. The book referenced is Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes (A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology) by Cory O'Brien, and it is an absolute gem._

The room was dark. Quiet. Marinette smiled as she shifted in her bed, cuddling deeper into the blanket cocoon she had made the night before (or earlier that morning, or night, or she wasn't really sure). She still felt the weight of her textbook on her stomach where she had dropped it some hours before. There was the slight hum of a fan near her head, letting her know her laptop was still running. She had been _so tired_ the night before, but she had had that report to finish – _still_ had that report to finish – so she had tried to force herself to stay up just a little bit longer…

"You know you talk in your sleep?"

She froze at the voice. Luka's voice. Gentle and reassuring as always, but tinny as it always was when they had to resort to Skype calls. She blinked her eyes open and turned her head, towards the laptop. That's right. She had called him the night before. He'd had some homework to finish up for those correspondence courses Penny had suggested he take. (He hadn't really wanted to continue his schooling after lycée, but he had agreed with Penny that taking some business courses might be a good idea – not because Jagged was going to try to screw him over, but because the music industry was full of more Bob Roths than Jagged Stones, and knowing your shit was a good idea.) She'd had that report due for her World Mythology class (a stupid gen ed course that wasn't _awful_, per se, but she definitely would have rather taken another fashion course instead), and they had kept each other company while studying.

She had been fortunate. She had gotten into a good program in her hometown, and while she had moved into a flat with Alya and Nino she was still local. She had been excited about that, until Jagged had announced his next tour and asked Luka to come along as his opening act. Time zones weren't always forgiving, and their relationship had boiled down to short phone calls, text chains, and the occasional Skype date. Which she didn't mind – it was better than nothing, honestly! – but…she missed him. She could admit that.

He was grinning at her. He looked entirely too awake for…five-thirty in the morning, though going from the light on his side it was later wherever he was this week. She must have fallen asleep during their call.

"Mari?" he asked, and she blinked her eyes open again.

"Yeah?" she mumbled, voice thick with sleep, and he chuckled.

"You're adorable this early in the morning," he said. She yawned and snuggled deeper into her pillow.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I fell asleep."

"You needed it," he said. "I didn't mind. I liked watching you sleep."

"Dork," she giggled. He looked up from the book he was marking in and grinned at her.

"You talk in your sleep," he said again. She cracked an eye open and frowned at him.

"Do not," she said, and he chuckled again.

"You threatened to send Chat Noir after Cerberus if he didn't leave you alone," he said, putting his book down. "And something about Viperion being more attractive than Apollo. Sounded like he didn't like that too much."

"Oh my God, shut up," she groaned, hiding her face in her pillow. She didn't really remember her dream, but she did have a slight recollection of telling Apollo off for killing snakes ("My boyfriend is a snake, and it's just rude!"). "I did not!"

"That mythology class is still kicking your butt, I take it," he chuckled.

"Alya said I should just do my final project on the Ladybug mythos, but I can't exactly use Tikki as an academic source," she grumbled. He was laughing again. She would be insulted if she didn't like his laugh so much. It was like honey, warm syrup poured over fluffy pancakes, melting butter on a fresh croissant…man, she was hungry… "Please tell me you at least finished your homework."

"Hours ago," he said. She peeked out from her pillows again to find he was still grinning at her. "It wasn't that hard, and it was almost finished anyway. How far did you get on your report?"

"Ugh," she groaned, "I don't even…blegh. I still have two pages to write. It's not due quite yet, but I really wanted to knock it out last night. I'm so over this class, Luka."

"You've been saying that since the first week. Did you get that book I sent you?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and pulled out the small yellow and white book she'd been carrying with her World Mythology book.

"My instructor was not impressed when I brought it to class," she said. "Too low-brow."

"If it had an opening, Zeus stuck his dick in it," Luka snorted. "All mythology – especially Greek mythology – is low-brow. Academics just don't like to admit it."

"Zeus grants stupid wishes," she quipped, glancing back at the book. "Actually, Alya said to thank you. She read through it in a night. She was also very drunk, but she said it was the funniest thing she's ever read."

"I live to please," he said. She snorted.

"If that was true you wouldn't have woken me up," she grumbled. She turned back towards the screen and sighed, reaching out to trace his profile. He hadn't shaved yet, and his hair was poking out of the beanie she had made him last Christmas at funny, sleep-mussed angles. "Ugh. I miss your stupid face."

"Same," he said, smiling softly at her. He wasn't going to press that the only reason he had started talking to her was because he'd seen her already waking up. "I should let you go. Got a meeting with Penny in an hour."

"I like waking up to you, though," she said without thinking. It seemed to register a moment later, and she squeaked as her eyes shot open. He didn't look upset, though. He was touching the screen on his end, and his face looked so…soft. She wanted to kiss that face.

"We should leave Skype open when you sleep more often," he laughed as he bent forward, burying his face in his hands. The tips of his ears were red. "God, Mari, I miss you. I want to kiss your face, too."

"Oh my God, I'm not awake enough for this," she groaned. "I said that out loud?"

"I'm learning so much from half-awake Mari," he chuckled. "I love it. Look, we're stopping back in Paris next week. I can kiss your face then?"

"Shut up and go shave," she huffed, hugging her pillow tight. "You have to meet Penny."

"Fine, fine. Have fun on your paper," he laughed.

"It's a stupid paper for a stupid gen ed course I didn't even want to take," she grumbled.

"You're brilliant, Mari. You'll do fine on it, even if you do think it's stupid. Just remember –" he started, and she rolled her eyes before cutting him off.

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed. "If it had an opening, Zeus stuck his dick in it. Too bad my paper's on Eros and Psyche."

"Well, she had an opening, and he stuck –"

"Oh my God, go meet Penny!" she laughed, burying her face in her pillow again. His chuckle was low, and deep, and felt like a blanket beckoning her back to sleep. She peeked out of her pillow again and smiled at him. "Go. I'll call you later."

"Love you," he said, and she smiled.

"Love you, too, you dork."


	14. Aug 20: Weird

**20 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Weird (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Chloé Bourgeois, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Kitty Section_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ I love unicorns. Nothing makes me feel better. (I hold by two theories: one, the band wore masks and polished up the song since Cpt. Hardrock, so of course Chloé doesn't know who they are (plus, y'know, she wasn't there); and two, Chloé totally knows that's Rose singing and is Just A Bitch.)_

Marinette could feel her eyebrow twitching, like a throbbing pulse. It was the telltale sign of an oncoming headache, and it was getting stronger with each grate of Chloé's voice. Every agreeing snicker from Lila. She hadn't thought the two were friends, but apparently _the enemy of my enemy is my friend_ and all that, in this case their 'enemy' being Kitty Section.

"I mean, it's just so _lame!"_ Chloé declared, holding her hand out to inspect her manicure. "Ridiculous – utterly ridiculous! They're all clearly teenagers – who sings about _unicorns_ when you're not five?"

"They've been trending on YouTube since their performance last month," Alya commented, glancing up from her phone. Marinette's eyebrow twitched again. Alya was _her_ best friend, and also hated Chloé, but now _Lila_ was hanging out with Chloé so Alya was, too? What even? "People are really enjoying the song, Chloé. The world can't wait for the next Kitty Section single."

"What-_ever_," Chloe scoffed. Alya rolled her eyes and sent Marinette a look, which she steadfastly ignored as she scribbled something in her sketchpad. "It's just _weird_. Teenagers singing about _unicorns_."

"And fluffy cats," Lila chimed in, as if one of the city's beloved heroes wasn't a cat ear-sporting teenager in black leather. She was probably well aware of that fact, actually, given how much she hated Paris's superheroes.

"Well, the biggest kid's song for a while now has been about a baby shark, so…" Nino chimed in, and Marinette hated how uncertain he sounded. Like he _knew_ the world loved a silly song about a baby shark but was unwilling to own that because Lila didn't agree.

"Because Baby Shark is actually _good_, Lahiffe, keep up," Chloé snorted (if she ever did anything as undignified as snort, that is). Marinette's grip tightened on her pencil and she looked across the courtyard to where Juleka, Ivan, and Mylène were trying to comfort a distraught Rose. Of course Chloé didn't notice – or, more likely, did and didn't care. Luka sat on the table behind Rose, a comforting hand laid on her shoulder while he glared daggers at Chloé.

"It's not that it's entirely awful," Lila chimed in. Rose perked up, glancing over at her hopefully, as if desperate for validation from the lying piece of…Marinette closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "It's just…"

"Weird!" Chloé cut in. "Those costumes? That song? Like, who even? And Jagged Stone loves them – I _don't _understand it!"

"Well, it's not like Jagged isn't pretty weird himself," Marinette muttered under her breath, but apparently she wasn't quiet enough. Chloé and Lila shot her withering looks.

"As if you'd know, Dupain-Cheng," Chloé scoffed. Marinette screeched and threw her sketchbook down, drawing her friends' attention. She glared at Chloé, her hands balled into fists.

"As a matter of fact, I _would_ know!" she snapped. "And while we're on it, I love Kitty Section! Their song is awesome – half those hits on YouTube are probably mine!"

…ok, maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but she liked the way it made the band members smile. And she had filmed and posted it for them, after all. That had to count for something.

"Of course you'd like them, Marinette," Lila said with a roll of her eyes. Marinette stood, glaring.

"Like there's anything wrong with liking an awesome song about unicorns! At least Kitty Section has some integrity, _Lila_," she bit out. Lila's eyes narrowed in a glare. "They like what they like, and they're not afraid to say it – even if you think it's weird!"

"I mean, lots of people like unicorns, sooo…not that weird," Nino muttered, kicking at the dirt by his feet. Marinette pointed at him and nodded.

"Yes! Exactly! Thank you!" she cried.

"Oh, please," Chloé scoffed. "A rock fan like you? As if you'd like something as silly as _Kitty Section_."

"I do like them, Chloé! A lot, actually! In fact…" Marinette climbed onto the top of the table, braced herself in a Power Stance she'd learned from Rose, and screamed out: "You know I love unicorns! Nothing makes me feel better!"

"Cut it out, Dupain-Cheng!" Chloé shouted over her singing. "You're just embarrassing yourself!"

Which, yeah. Probably true. But Marinette was beyond caring – her friends' honor was on the line.

"I see their faces everywhere I go – I dream about 'em in the night!" Marinette continued. She glanced back at the band and grinned. Juleka and Ivan were smiling at her, and Rose – despite the tears on her cheeks – looked like it was Christmas. Mylène gave her an encouraging thumbs up, and Luka…her cheeks turned pink at the grin he was giving her, and she turned back to Chloé. "You know I love unicorns, and nothing makes me feel better!"

"Ok, fine, you've proved your point!" Chloé screamed as she stood. "Ugh! Ridiculous – utterly ridiculous! You are _such_ a loser, Dupain-Cheng!"

Chloé turned with a flip of her ponytail and stormed off, Sabrina scurrying after her. Lila narrowed a glare at Marinette before running after Chloé, and of course Nino and Alya (who at least tossed an eye roll and encouraging smile Marinette's way) ran after her. Marinette sat down on the table with a huff, folding her arms over her chest as she glared after them. She couldn't believe the nerve of that girl! Actually, she could, but…

…she froze when the cheering started. She turned around to find Kitty Section whooping and clapping. Rose was actually on her feet, jumping up and down as she screamed out how great Marinette was. It only took a moment before she rushed over and tackled her in a hug, and the moment after that they were dwarfed by Juleka and Ivan. Marinette laughed as they squished her in a cuddle pile.

"Guys, come on – it was no big deal!" she said. Her laugh turned into a gasp as Rose squeezed her tighter.

"It totally was! You were so cool, Marinette!" Rose squealed. "You totally stood up to Chloé!"

"It was totally awesome," Juleka agreed.

"So not a loser!" Ivan chimed in. Rose bounced in the huddle, squealing excitedly.

"Oh, oh, oh – I got our next song! You know I love Marineeeeeette! You know, she's totally awesome!" she sang. Marinette snorted and buried her burning face in her hands.

"You guys," she laughed. Juleka smirked as Luka walked over.

"Luka should totally sing it," she added. She winked at Rose before continuing the song: "I only want her to be mine, mine, mine – I dream about her in the night!"

"Ooo-k there, thanks, sis, we'll consider it," Luka said quickly as Marinette squeaked (shrieked, squeak-shrieked – she wasn't sure what exactly the noise was that escaped her, but it was definitely embarrassing). She peeked out from behind her fingers and was only slightly relieved to see he was blushing, too. "Come on, guys. Let her breathe."

"Nope – Mari's the best and deserves all the hugs – get in here, Luka!" Rose ordered as she grabbed his arm and tugged him down. His breath left him in a _whoosh_ as he landed, sprawled on his back, across Marinette and Rose's laps. With his head in Marinette's. She blinked down at him from the spaces between her fingers, and he blinked up at her as a slow smile curled his lips.

"Ok," he said, reaching up to take her hand. "I could get used to this."

"Maybe Chloé was right," Mylène said as she attempted to come to Marinette's rescue. "Kitty Section _is_ kinda weird after all."

Later on – much later on, after Mylène had managed to save Marinette from the cuddle pile and remind the band they actually did have to practice at some point that day – the group was walking back to the Liberty. Marinette had hung towards the back, and Luka – who had refused to release her hand since being yanked into the cuddle pile – had stayed with her.

"You know, it was pretty cool, what you did back there," he said, squeezing her hand. Her face felt warm again as she looked to their feet, but she was finding it felt warm most times Luka was around. "You're pretty awesome, Marinette."

"Not weird?" she asked, glancing up at him. He chuckled and shook his head.

"No weirder than the rest of us," he said. "Everyone's a little weird, when you think about it."

"True," she said. She shot him a grin. "Especially Chloé."

He snorted, and then his head fell back as a full-body laugh escaped him. He squeezed her hand again, swinging their arms between them slightly as they walked.

"Yeah," he agreed when the laugh had died off. "_Definitely_ Chloé."


	15. Aug 21: Hope

**21 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Hope (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Juleka Couffaine & Luka Couffaine, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ K Plus / PG / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ Juleka is ninety percent sure Luka's about to get his heart broken, but she hopes she's wrong. (I had this great idea to do this a certain way, and then Today Happened, and I just sat down like "ugh just finish the theme". Not entirely happy with the ending, but was kinda rushing because yaaay back to work tomorrow! Have I said thank you yet for all the feedback and how much y'all are liking this? 'Cause really. Life has been CRAZY and I haven't really had time to sit down and reply to comments, but y'all have been making me smile so much. So thank you, really. I love that y'all are enjoying these.)_

Rose was gushing beside her, going on and on about how awesome their first official concert was, but Juleka wasn't paying as much attention as she probably should have been. Ivan and Mylène were occupying most of Rose's attention, anyway. Juleka's was directed elsewhere.

Specifically: her stupid brother.

Her stupid brother who couldn't stop looking at a certain pigtailed friend of hers.

Her stupid brother who probably wasn't aware of the goo-goo eyes he was shooting said friend every time she wasn't looking.

Her stupid brother who was going to get his heart broken because, even if Marinette was shooting shy little looks back at him every time he looked away, she was head-over-heels crazy for someone else.

"Oh, Juleka, wasn't tonight just the _best?_" Rose gushed, latching onto her arm. Juleka narrowed her eyes at Luka as he sent another dopey smile Marinette's way, and she took a drink to hide her frown.

"Yeah," she mumbled, her frown deepening as Adrien said something to Marinette that made her spazz. "The best."

– V –

"Don't ask Marinette out."

The song that had been floating through the room – the same one Luka had been playing since the music festival last week – cut off in a discordant clang. His grip on the neck of his guitar was oddly tight, as were his eyes as he tried not to glare at her.

"Excuse me?" he asked. He was annoyed, but so was she. She just wasn't sure who she was more annoyed at: him, for being Stupid, or Marinette, for being _Marinette_. (…which was unfair, because Marinette couldn't help being awesome. She just was. She wasn't _actively_ encouraging Luka's crush. She was just being a friend. Being nice. All the same, Juleka was annoyed.)

"You're crushing. You're crushing _hard_," she said. She wanted to look away, but she forced herself to maintain eye contact. The way she rubbed her arm was the only visible sign that she was as uncomfortable as she was. "Stop it."

"I'm not…what's it matter, anyway? I can have a crush," Luka said. He was smiling again, but there was an edge to that smile that said he was about as uneasy as she was.

"She's in love with someone else, Luka," Juleka said. She closed her eyes and sighed, hanging her head. "You're gonna get hurt."

"That's my choice then, isn't it?" he asked, and the softness of his voice made her look back at him. He was looking at the edge of his bed, a fond smile on his face. "I know, Jules. I saw how she looked at him. But…I can still think she's amazing, can't I?"

"She's gonna break your heart," she sighed, looking away again, "and she's my friend, and I don't want to have to hate her because you're stupid. So stop being stupid."

He didn't have anything to say to that, and she'd said all she could. So she left him in their bunk, still playing that song she was starting to get sick of.

She had to meet the girls, anyway. Alya had come up with another brilliant Team Adrinette plan to share with them, and she was late.

– V –

Juleka didn't outwardly react when Marinette came back down below decks and told them she had asked Luka to join Adrien, Kagami, and her at the ice rink. She did, however, pull Marinette aside as everyone was leaving and ask if she really thought that was a good idea. Marinette had been confused and said Luka was just a friend, and wouldn't a buffer be good? So Kagami and Adrien could have time alone, and she would have a distraction from their _date?_

It was the first time Juleka had wanted to actively strangle her, but she'd just shrugged and said, "I guess. Whatever."

She'd thrown a pillow at Luka when Marinette was gone and he came down, smiling like an Idiot.

Luka came back from the date earlier than she'd expected, but that probably had something to do with the akuma attack at the ice rink. He was still smiling, but he looked more resigned, and that turned something in her stomach.

"You ok?" she asked as he entered their bunk. He flopped down on his bed with a sigh, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

"She's in love with Adrien," he sighed. She frowned and looked back to her French homework. "She is _so_ in love with Adrien."

"I told you," she mumbled, filling out another exercise. Anything to distract her from the uncomfortable way her heart was twisting.

"And I am so in love with her," he said. She bit her lip and refused to look at him. She didn't say what she wanted to. She knew it wouldn't help.

_I told you not to._

– V –

She was annoyed at Marinette, too. She could admit that now.

Because Marinette still claimed to be in love with Adrien, but she was spending an awful lot of time at the Liberty. And maybe it was because she honestly enjoyed their music and wanted to help (ok she was designing their costumes and sets and yeah, she'd kinda joined the band at some point and _had_ to be there), but Juleka saw the little looks she kept sending her brother. The conversations off to the side. The little _coupley_ things they kept doing that would have been fine if it were Ivan and Mylène or Rose and her but it was Luka and Marinette and Marinette said she was still in love with _Adrien_ and…

She took a deep breath. And another one. And one more, just to be thorough.

Marinette was giving Luka _hope_, and Juleka didn't think that was very fair of her. It was even worse because she really didn't think Marinette realized she was doing it.

She was also fairly certain Marinette was the reason her brother had gotten akumatized. Neither had really spilled the details on that yet, and she'd been outside the studio with the others at the time, but she'd seen the footage as the battle waged.

She gave Luka a look as he walked up to the stage, but they already had their masks on and she was fairly certain he missed it. She saw Marinette watching them – watching _him_ – and blushing, though, and that annoyed her, too.

They all went their separate ways after (politely) refusing Bob Roth's offer, but they went part of the way together. Luka stayed back with Marinette until she had to turn off towards the bakery, and when he was once again walking even with Rose and her she thwapped the back of his head.

"You're an idiot," she said.

"Juleka!" Rose squeaked, horrified. "Luka, are you ok? That was so mean!

"Nah, it's cool," Luka said with a shrug. "She's right. I am an idiot. I deserved that."

He walked a bit ahead of them the rest of the way, humming that stupid song again.

– V –

"I think Luka likes me," Marinette told her at school the next day. They were waiting for the others to join them in the canteen, and it was the first time in a while Juleka had been entirely alone with her. Marinette didn't say it like she was bragging, or excited, or anything, really. She sounded bemused. Like she couldn't believe _Luka_ liked _her_.

"…yeah," she said, mumbled, hoping Marinette wouldn't actually hear her. Marinette frowned and nibbled on her apple slices.

"…would you get mad if I said I think I like him, too?" she asked. Juleka sighed and picked at her orange.

"Only if you don't mean it," she said. She looked up at Marinette, frowning, and hoped she saw how serious she was. "Only if you let him know and still love Adrien and break his heart."

Marinette was quiet after that, but then Rose was bouncing over with her lunch with Alya and the others behind her, and their lunch wasn't very quiet at all.

– V –

"Hey, Jules?"

She looked up from the tablet she was watching with Rose and popped her earbud out. Luka was absently strumming that song again, but it was slower. Sadder. He was watching the street by the river, as if he was waiting for someone.

"Yeah?" she asked. Rose giggled beside her.

"Has Marinette said anything about coming by? She hasn't been around in a while," he said. He was still picking at his guitar distractedly, refusing to meet her gaze. "I tried texting her, but…"

"She's been really busy," Rose piped up. She didn't look up from the screen, grinning at the baby hedgehog that was spinning in a kitchen sink. "I asked her if she was going to swing by a practice soon, but she's been swamped. Babysitting, and helping at the bakery, and she's been getting a lot of commissions. She wanted to come by yesterday, but Alya roped her into an _Adrien_ thing, and – oof! What was that for, Juleka?"

If Luka had caught what Rose had said, which Juleka knew he had, he didn't show it. He stopped playing, though, and hoisted himself out of the chair he'd been occupying for the better part of the evening.

"Luka? Where are you going?" Rose called as he made his way off the ship.

"Getting some macarons," he called, waving them off. "Got a craving."

Juleka tried not to roll her eyes.

– V –

He came back a few hours later with a pink box full of macarons. He announced his presence by chucking one at her head.

"You suck," he said as he plopped down at the kitchen table. Anarka raised her eyebrows at him as he bit into a macaron, but he seemed content enough. Juleka picked up the cookie he had tossed at her and, with a shrug, took a bite. "You shouldn't eat that. You don't deserve it."

"What did I do?" she asked, eating the cookie anyway. He offered the box to their mother, who grabbed a few before making her exit. (She had always believed in letting them sort out their own squabbles with minimal interference. Giving them _liberty_ and all that.)

"You told Marinette to stay away from me," he said. Her stomach dropped to her feet. He made it sound like she'd been defending his honor or something. (Which, sure, maybe she had been, but still.)

"That's not…I didn't mean it like…" she tried to say, but he laughed and tossed her another macaron – not at her head that time. "What?"

"Relax, we're good," he said. He smiled at the bakery box, and she noticed he was idly tracing the T&S emblem. "But…next time I say I like someone, can you just let me like them? Even if they're gonna break my heart?"

She looked down at the macaron, remembering the day Marinette's dad had taught their class how to make them. Remembering the day she'd told Marinette to stay away from her brother. Remembering how Marinette was a good person who had actually listened.

Remembering that her stupid brother was an Idiot who could make his own choices (even if they broke his heart).

"Yeah," she said, biting into the cookie. "I guess."

– V –

If you asked Marinette, their first date was that day at the ice rink, when she was still in love with someone else and he had just wanted to spend more time with her.

If you asked Juleka, their first date was the summer before they started lycée, when Luka had 'kidnapped' Marinette from the middle of a girl day to check out some boutique opening from a new designer she'd been following. (They spent maybe half an hour at the boutique. The rest of the five hours they spent walking around the city. He bought her dinner at a bistro, and they had a picnic by the river.)

And if you asked Luka, it was that spring day her second year of lycée when they were all sunbathing on the upper deck of the Liberty and Marinette (who had been ogling his shirtless back rather unabashedly as he kicked Ivan's butt in table tennis) had asked him if he was ever just going to kiss her already.

…he did, and then they'd left the others to wander around the city for half the night. They came back with blue and pink ice cream and dopey grins that made Juleka think Marinette wouldn't be so bad for him, after all.

– V –

"I changed my mind," Juleka said from the back of the room, smiling as she saw Rose bouncing by Marinette's side. Alya laughed and told her to stop – Marinette's hair was in a precarious state, and Rose's bouncing was bound to ruin all of her hard work. Marinette caught her eye in the mirror and raised a manicured brow, though she was still smiling.

It was hard not to smile on your wedding day.

"You know," Marinette said loudly as Rose and Alya continued to fuss, "I've been thinking a pixie cut would be kinda cute."

"Don't you dare!" Alya gasped, tugging the bit of hair she was trying to curl.

"What did you change your mind about, Juls?" Marinette asked once the other two had settled a bit. Juleka smiled and walked over to her side. She held her hands and leaned her head on her shoulder, smiling at her soon-to-be sister-in-law.

"I don't think you're going to break Luka's heart after all," she said. Marinette giggled and leaned her head against Juleka's. They both ignored Alya's fussing.

"That's gonna be you, sis," she said, squeezing her hand, "if you aren't front and center in most of the photos."


	16. Aug 22: Summer

**22 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Summer (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Tom Dupain, Sabine Cheng, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ You know what sucks? Starting the school year on a Thursday, with a two-hour delay schedule (that just like…messes _everything_ up – it's great when you're a student, but it sucks when you're staff), so that you come home wiped and are just like…"WHY IS IT NOT FRIDAY?" (…that has nothing to do with this other than I'm just whining and this is short because I came home and took a Nap. Like an Adult.)_

"Yes, can I help…?" Tom's greeting trailed off, his jovial smile replaced with a concerned frown, as he took in the teen who'd been kicking at his door. His eyes trailed critically over the tip-dyed hair, the beanie covering the hair (despite the fact that it had been a warmer than usual day), the ripped jeans, the loose tank with Jagged Stone's face on it, the piercings (…ok, it was just his ears, but Tom had a feeling there would be more before long), the heavy boots (again, despite the warm weather)…and the Marinette slumped over his back (which explained why he'd been kicking instead of knocking, but still). She was asleep, her face nuzzled against the boy's neck, and every inch of exposed skin – from the arms curled around his neck to the legs he was supporting with his own arms – was bright, sun-burnt red.

"Evening, sir," the boy said with a nod. Tom was still frowning. The boy shifted, adjusting his grip on Tom's daughter, and diverted his gaze. (One of the few perks of being a big man was the Intimidation Factor, especially when it came to boys and his daughter.) "I…uh…I'm just bringing Mari home?"

_Mari?_ Tom thought with narrowed eyes. Who was this boy that was familiar enough with his daughter to call her _Mari_, and why didn't he know him?

"We kinda lost track of time, and she got burnt pretty bad, and it kinda wiped her out…" the boy rambled. "Her phone died, and the only number any of us had was hers, and when we tried to call the bakery –"

"Was closed," Tom said, folding his arms over his chest. "We switch to an answering service at night so after-hour calls don't disturb our home."

"Yeah," the boy said, nodding. Mari groaned in her sleep and cuddled closer to him. He seemed to get over his nerves when he looked at her, his entire face softening as he watched her sleep. "I just wanted to make sure she got home safe."

"And you are…?" Tom asked. The boy winced, the nerves returning.

"Right," he said. "Sorry. Luka. I'm her…I'm Juleka's brother?"

"Oh! The musician!" Tom said. Luka blinked in surprise as Tom's entire demeanor changed. He stepped aside and waved him inside. "Yes, yes – come in! Marinette's told us so much about you! I'm so sorry. My wife says I have a bit of an over-protective streak, but you can never be too careful these days. What happened, again?"

The boy – _Luka_, he reminded himself – was smiling nervously as he carried Marinette inside, like he was all too aware of how _over-protective_ Tom could be.

"Here – you live by the river, right? That's a long way to carry someone. Let me take her," Tom said, moving to remove Marinette from Luka's back. Marinette groaned in her sleep and clung to Luka tighter.

"It's ok," Luka said quickly, stepping back. Tom's frown returned. "I mean…she's not…I've got her."

"Tom? Who was at the door?" Sabine called as she came over. Her face lit up when she saw Luka. "Oh! Luka! It's so good to see you again! Goodness, what happened? Is Marinette all right?"

"Good evening, ma'am," Luka said, nodding in greeting.

"Sabine, please!" she said, and he smiled slightly.

"Wait – you know him? We've met him?" Tom asked, looking between the teen and his wife. Sabine rolled her eyes and patted his arm.

"Of course, Tom," she said fondly. "Luka is Juleka's brother? Part of Kitty Section? Marinette helps with their sets and costumes. He's been over with the band."

"Where was I when this happened?" Tom asked, frowning.

"Working," Sabine laughed. "He's also visited Marinette in the bakery before, dear. Now, Luka, what happened?"

"Mari was hanging at the boat with us," he said. "She got a little…a lot sunburnt, and we all kinda lost track of time?"

"It happens – it's summer, after all," Sabine said fondly. She brushed her daughter's bangs back and winced at how red her face was.

"Her phone died, and none of us actually had your home number," Luka said. "I was gonna bring her home sooner, but she was kinda out of it from the sun, and she needed the rest, and –"

"Luka, Luka, it's fine!" Sabine laughed. "Thank you for seeing her home safely and watching out for her. She doesn't always remember her sunscreen when she should."

"She did," he said quickly. He smiled slightly and shrugged. "…she just forgot to reapply."

"That sounds like Marinette," Tom chuckled. He held his arms out. "Here, son. Hand her over. I'm going to have an easier time getting her to her bed than you are."

He looked uncertain, but after a moment he nodded and let Tom take her from his back. Tom noticed Marinette's flip-flops were in Luka's hand (he also noticed the chipped nail polish and bracelets). Marinette groaned and curled against him, and Luka reached out to brush her bangs back. He looked like he didn't want to leave – like…

"We'll have her call you in the morning, dear," Sabine said, placing an arm on his shoulder. She took Marinette's shoes from him and led him back to the door. "Thank you again for taking care of her."

"She was kinda queasy earlier," Tom heard Luka say, but he was already halfway up the steps to Marinette's room. "I think it was just the sun, and she didn't throw up, but she really wasn't feeling great."

"We'll keep an eye on her. Now, I know Anarka's a bit more free-spirited than we are, but she's still you're mother and I'm sure she's going to worry if you don't get home soon," he heard Sabine say. There was a bit more muffled conversation – he thought he heard Sabine giving Luka their home number – as he moved around Marinette's room. He placed her on the chaise, thinking it would be safer than her bed if she still wasn't feeling well when she woke up, and placed an empty trash can beside her. Her purse was placed by her desk, her phone pulled out and placed on the charger, and after a final check he made his way back downstairs. Luka was gone, and Sabine was waiting for him by the counter. There was a fond smile on her face that she was trying to hide with her teacup.

"So –" he started, and she shook his head.

"I like that boy, Tom," she said, still smiling at him. It was the kind of smile that told him he was not to interfere and exactly what would happen if he did. "I really like that boy, and Mari does, too."

"But I thought she liked Adrien!" Tom said. He leaned on the counter across from her, frowning. "When did our baby girl start liking _bad boys?"_

Sabine snorted, choking slightly on her tea, before laying a hand on Tom's.

"Luka's not a _bad boy_, Tom," she laughed. "He's…a blueberry. Sweet, with just enough edge to make it interesting."

"But Adrien is…the perfect fluffy choux, with a sweet cream filling and –" he started, but the roll of her eyes made him stop. "Are they…_dating?"_

"Not yet," she hummed, sipping her tea, "but…summer's not over yet."

Tom glanced up at the trap door that led to his daughter's bedroom and sighed. They were just getting over that Chat Noir fiasco, and now…he missed the simpler days, when his baby girl was still a baby girl and he didn't have to worry about _boys_.


	17. Aug 23: Death

**23 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Death (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ Look at the prompt. Now look at me. Now look at the corner. Since Yankee Candle's releasing the 2019 Boneys tomorrow, the cookies by the tissues have pumpkin in 'em. (Major character death, except not, and mentions of blood, grief, sick, panic attacks...sooo TBW and squick alert. Eh I could have ended this better, but I got seven minutes to do a quick proof & post.)_

_now there's a ghost in the back of this room and i don't like it_

_i fall asleep with my covers pulled up and try to fight it_

_i gotta say it's hard to be brave when you're alone in the dark_

_i told myself that i wouldn't be scared_

_but i…i'm still having nightmares_

_. . : : nightmares – all time low : : . ._

It all happens so fast.

It always happens fast.

Even as time slows to a crawl, trickling by like the first leaks before the dam ruptures. He sees every horrible little detail in perfect clarity, feels every ticking second down to his bones, and it all happens way too fast.

Lila has always been dangerous, even if passively, but her akuma forms – Volpina, Chameleon…they'd been harmless. Relatively harmless. A nuisance, but no one had actually been physically hurt. When the girl is outed as the liar she is and left as ostracized as she was trying to make Marinette, she has nothing left to lose. _La Vittima_ doesn't care who she hurts as long as Marinette suffers. As long as Ladybug pays.

It takes an eternity.

It takes less than a minute.

La Vittima has Ladybug cornered. Words are exchanged, too low for the other heroes to hear, and then she strikes. Ladybug's earrings are ripped from her ears, and when the pink sparkles vanish Marinette is left gaping at La Vittima. A smile curls her lips.

"You know…" the monster who used to be yet always is Lila Rossi coos, "I don't even feel bad about this."

It takes a blink.

He hasn't blinked in ages.

And Marinette is staring at him – not at the howling Chat Noir, not at the shrieking Rena Rouge, not at the cackling La Vittima – _him,_ Viperion, as La Vittima's umbrella – stolen from Marinette, used to rain misery on the city of Paris – is shoved through her stomach.

And he can't move.

La Vittima is cackling as Chat Noir charges her, attacking in a blind rage as Rena rushes to Marinette's side. But there is no more Marinette. She's fallen to her knees, the ground, as the wrong red covers her. Glassy blue eyes stare at him – she won't stop staring at _him_ – as Rena sobs at her to hold on. And Chat is feral, even as La Vittima tries to outmaneuver him to get his ring, and Viperion can't think.

Because all of Paris knows Chat Noir is in love with Ladybug.

But it was _his_ girlfriend under the mask.

His stomach lurches, his feet move robotically, and he doesn't know how he gets to her side. His hands are on her face, and she won't stop staring, and she's gasping in stuttering little breaths…

"Viperion – quick! Your power! Use it!" Rena shouts, but it's like she's at the other end of a too-long tunnel. He's in France, and she's in England shouting over the underwater train.

"Lu…Lu…" Marinette chokes out, her hand coming up to his wrist – his _bangle_ – and his breath freezes in his chest.

"Viperion!" Rena screeches, and he doesn't think. Doesn't hesitate.

"SECOND CHANCE!"

– V –

He doesn't give himself time to catch his bearings from the time shift. The light has barely faded before his feet are moving, and he doesn't think as he shoves Ladybug out of the way. As he grabs La Vittima's umbrella and snaps it over his knee.

It's pretty much over by that point. Ladybug – _Marinette_ – purifies the akuma. Casts her miracle cure. Tries to comfort Lila, but the scorned girl is beyond caring by this point. She warns Ladybug that she won't give up before running off.

He won't, either.

But Ladybug is rolling her eyes and turning back to him with a smile, and he's still not thinking as he rushes at her again. He crushes her in a hug, thankful that she's _there_ and _alive_ and so very, very _alive_, but she's laughing nervously as she awkwardly pats his back – and he can feel every hesitation in her body. The desire to hold him warring with the need to conceal her identity. The confusion because Viperion has never hugged Ladybug, not like this, not like he needs her like breathing – not like Luka would hug Marinette. And Rena and Carapace are at their side, looking at each other in bemused confusion, and Chat is squawking on their other side, shouting that that's _his_ Lady, but Viperion can't let go.

"V-Viperion?" she asks softly, her hand lightly laying between his shoulder blades. "Are you ok?"

He's not. But none of them remember, _she_ doesn't remember.

God above, he wishes _he_ didn't remember.

"I –" he chokes out, but then his Miraculous starts beeping. She pushes him away and smiles. He can tell she's trying to make him feel better even while worrying that she can't.

"Go," she says. "I'll take Rena and Carapace back, then I'll come find you."

He doesn't want to let her go. Can barely think those words, now that the meaning is so much nearer. She lays a hand on his cheek and smiles, and she doesn't know how to react when he turns his head and kisses her palm. It's something Luka would do, but he's not Luka and she's not Marinette, but none of that bullshit matters much anymore.

"Go," she says again, squeezing his hand. He doesn't want to, but it's Marinette – Ladybug – and he'll always listen to her.

– V –

He barely makes it back to the Liberty before his transformation drops. He throws himself at the railing and hurls into the Seine, Sass burrowing into his hair in a vain attempt to comfort him. He collapses on deck when his stomach has nothing left to empty, and the kwami hovers before him with sad, ancient eyes.

"You weren't ssssupposssed to find out like thissss," he says softly. Luka can't face him.

"I can't stop seeing it," he chokes out. His throat is burning from the need to cry and the bile. "Sass, she…"

"She did, but she didn't," his kwami says. He snuggles into his hood, hugging his tail around his neck. "You sssaved her."

"But she almost…" he can't even say it. Can't stop thinking it.

"Sssspeak with her," Sass tells him. He takes a shuddering breath, runs his shaking fingers down his face, and stands.

"Let's get you some food," he says, and he makes his way to the kitchen because feeding his kwami is something he can do, something he has control over, and it doesn't make him think of those guilt-ridden blue eyes gazing at him as she…

– V –

He's on the upper deck when Ladybug finds him. His mother and sister still aren't home, and he's nursing a water as Sass nurses some eggs. He's halfway through his second one when she arrives.

"I've got time," she tells the kwami as she sits on the deck by his feet. She rubs her finger against Sass's head, and he flicks his tongue out with a smile before nibbling on the hardboiled egg. She looks up at him, catches the way he can't stop staring, and frowns. "Luka…what happened today?"

Because it's obvious that _something_ happened, and it's obvious it was bad, and she needs to know. He doesn't know if he can tell her.

"…it doesn't matter," he finally says, the words muffled around the fingers he's pressing his mouth against. He's hunched over, elbows on knees and fingers steepled together, and it's taking everything in him to keep that position. To hold himself together.

And she knows him so well, because it's not just Ladybug sitting beside him. It's Marinette, and she knows him like he knows the rock of the Seine, like she knows the whirr of her sewing machine, and she knows it _does_ matter – but she doesn't know that he knows. Identities have always been a big deal to her, and he knows he can't say anything. Can't say that watching her d…watching _that_ killed him, and he's just a throbbing mess of frayed nerve endings every time he looks at her. So it doesn't matter, even though it does, because Sass is right: he saved her, and she's ok, and she's going to be ok. He can make sure of that.

"Luka…you don't look…like it doesn't matter," she says slowly, choosing her words carefully. "You look…"

"Like shit?" he asks, and she looks guilty over how that makes her smile.

"He used hisss power," Sass says once he's finished the last egg. Ladybug frowns.

"What happened, Luka? What did you undo?" she asks. He places a hand on her cheek, because he needs to. Brushes her bangs back with the other, smooths her furrowed brow with his thumb. Because he needs to feel her, know she's there. It's a more intimate touch than Ladybug should be comfortable with, but she doesn't push him away.

"All that matters is I did," he says. Sass opens his mouth, but he shoots him the slightest of looks before slipping the bangle off. He hands it back to Ladybug. "We won. Take the victory, LB."

It doesn't feel like a victory as she swings away.

He's already missing her closeness.

– V –

He should have realized Marinette was Ladybug sooner.

That night, he dreams of the TVi studios, fingers on lips, and voices in his head.

He wakes in a cold sweat, because her voice had been silenced earlier that day, and suddenly he remembers that he had silenced her once before, too.

He doesn't sleep the rest of the night.

– V –

He's waiting at the steps of her college when school lets out the next day. That's not unusual, but the way he rushes to her side instead of letter her come to him is. There's nothing easygoing about the way he crushes her to him, or the way he crushes his mouth to hers like he'd wanted to all day yesterday. Alya, Nino, and Adrien are gawking beside them, but he doesn't care. He needs to feel her, know she's there, know she's not bleeding out on some dirty Paris street.

"Um, hi," she giggles when he pulls back.

"You all right there, Couffaine?" Alya asks, smirking at him, but he rubs his thumb along the apple of Marinette's cheek and breathes her in. Takes a moment. Then another.

"I'm better," he says, though there's nothing _better_ about the way he leans into her, rests his forehead against hers, maintains the touching because it's a reminder, a lifeline. They both start at the honk, and Adrien coughs uneasily as he waves.

"Um…see you guys tomorrow," he says awkwardly, fist bumping with Nino before trotting off to meet his bodyguard.

"Sooo…people are staring," Marinette says after another moment, and he dips down to kiss her again. Just because she's there and he can.

"Let 'em," he chokes out, and he kisses her again.

– V –

It's Friday, and the band has decided to turn their practice into a sleepover. They're sprawled around the lower deck, and a projector is hooked up to Juleka's computer and casting an old movie onto the unfurled mainsail. Luka sits in his favorite deck chair, Marinette curled up on his lap, with a light blanket wrapped around them to block out the chill. It's not unusual – he's always been a tactile person with the right people, and Marinette was tactile with almost everyone. Alya had joked once that both of their love languages was touch, and while he'd never heard of a _love language_ before he wasn't surprised.

It's been worse since she…since La Vittima, though.

"My legs are falling asleep," she mumbles against his neck, and he takes a moment to breathe in the scent of her shampoo mixed with the river and the lingering aroma of fresh-baked croissants. She smells familiar, present, like home. "Lu."

His entire body freezes, his arms tightening into a death grip around her. He can't breathe. The dialogue of the movie screeches into a thundering roar. He's back on that street, staring down at her as she chokes on her blood and his name. Wide, glassy eyes staring at him with guilt and fear, because she knows what's happening-happened-undone, has always known that he is Viperion and now he knows she's Ladybug, and she's going someplace he can't follow and rattling breathes choking out _Lu…Lu…Lu…_

"LUKA!"

He sucks in air like a drowning man, and the noise is so painfully loud in his ears. She's twisted herself, straddled him as her hands clamp down on his face. Centers him. Calls his name – his _full name_ – to focus. Those blue eyes, so full of life and panic and _fear_ and all for him, and it's too much. He doesn't deserve it. Can't take it.

He couldn't protect her.

But his ear is against her heart, thundering almost as loudly as his own, as she curls around him. He couldn't protect her, but he did save her. She's alive. She's fine. She's…

She holds him as his breathing evens, as the panic fades and is replaced by exhaustion, and she's still holding him when he blacks out.

– V –

His dreams aren't the reprieve they used to be.

Because he's forced to watch it happen over and over and over again, and he's powerless to do anything. His Miraculous remains inert on his wrist no matter how many times he flicks it. Every scream of _"Second Chance!"_ is just noise, shouted over and over until his throat is raw. Every rattling breath takes her farther and farther away from him.

"Lu…" she gasps, and he calls upon his power.

"Lu…" she chokes, and he screams all the louder.

"Lu…" she coughs, blood trickling over her lips – it's a stomach injury, why is there blood staining her beautiful mouth, why is there even blood, why is there no _Second Chance_ to fix this?

– V –

Or it's worse.

His power works, but he's still too late.

They get their Second Chance, but La Vittima is faster and still fatally wounds her before he can snatch the umbrella.

He screams, calls upon his power again, but they only ever get one Second Chance and no matter what…he can't fix this.

– V –

He's in his bed when he wakes up. She's curled around him, or he's curled around her, and it's dark and late and he can hear Ivan snoring on the air mattress by the bed. She's still awake, though, and she's still staring at him with those concerned – terrified – eyes. Her hand is tangled in his hair, and he raises his own to clasp her wrist. Rubs his thumb along the leather thong she crafted to hold his old Jagged Stone pick.

"Hey," she whispers. He closes his eyes and breathes her in. "Hey, come back to me."

His chest seizes again, his grip on her wrist tightening.

"Ok, it's ok," she says quickly, running her fingers along his scalp. It's grounding. Familiar. "Luka, you're not ok."

"I'm not," he agrees, turning his head to kiss her palm.

"What happened? You've been off ever since –" she starts, but he kisses her again – on the mouth this time, to sile…to cut…to stop the ramble before she can spiral.

Deep breath. And another. Steady – calm – center – focus.

"You died," he whispers.

It's the first time he's let himself say it. Think it. With the actual word.

She died.

But she didn't.

Except she did.

"I…what?" she asks, her face scrunched in confusion, and it would be adorable if he wasn't so shaken. His hand reaches out, his thumb brushing against the innocent-looking earrings she always wears. He had never thought much of them. Figured they were just a favorite pair. Figured…

"La Vittima got your Miraculous," he says softly, lowly, painfully aware that there are four other people in the room who should be asleep and can't know what he can't seem to stop saying. Now that he's said it – now that's let himself admit what happened or didn't happen or almost happened – he has to say it all. "And she killed you. And I couldn't…babe, I didn't even _think_…I just saw you there. And you were dying. You were dead."

"I'm not dead, Luka," she says, and while she sounds so certain he can hear the fear of a second chance, of a close call, painting the edges.

"But you were, and she had your Miraculous, so the suit couldn't protect you when she…" he stops, swallows around the lump. The bile. He has to get it out. "I lost you. I can't lose you."

"Luka…" she breathes, and he nestles against her. Pulls her closer.

"I know I'm not supposed to know," he says. "I know how important the secret is. But she had your earrings, and you were just Marinette, and she killed you. And I undid it, but I'm the only one who knows it, and I close my eyes and all I see is you dying. I can't unsee it. I need to unsee it."

"I'm here," she whispers, moving her lips across his forehead. If his hair is tickling her face, she doesn't say it. "I'm here, ok? You saved me. You stopped her. I'm ok. I'm here."

"Don't leave," he whispers. He's so tired, still so tired, but he's scared to sleep again. Scared of what he'll see next.

"I'm not going anywhere," she says, but it's a promise he knows she can't keep. Because next time Viperion might not be there. She risks her life every time she uses those damn earrings, and she's amazing and incredible and the hero of Paris, yeah, but she's carrying the world on her shoulders while completely ignoring the fact that she's become his. And if he can't protect her…can't…and she dies again, and…

"Sleep, Luka," she says, softly, quietly. "You need to sleep. We'll talk about it in the morning, ok? I'll take you to the Guardian. He can help."

Luka loves being Viperion, loves the little snake he's gotten so close to over the years, but the coiling in his gut says he might not ever want to don the Miraculous again – except he knows he must, because without Viperion there would have been no Second Chance. There would be no more Ma-Ma-Marinette. There would be…

"Sleep," she whispers again, and this time he does.

Her heart is strong and steady beneath his ear, a beating drum to ward off any new – any old – nightmares.

It's still beating when he wakes.

He sees the little red kwami nestled at the top of her pillow, watching him carefully, and he holds her closer.

Her heart is still beating. He has to trust that it will keep doing so.


	18. Aug 24: SuperheroesSupervillains

**24 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Superheroes/Supervillains (Setting)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Nino Lahiffe/Alya Césaire_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ If I did my math right, Luka's in his final year of lycée here, and Mari would be in her first. I have this HC that he was at an arts-focused school, and she ended up there as well (because it was a good program and arts schools ROCK and it meant she could go to school with him). Also when I pictured Luka playing the Ninja Turtles song, it was totally in the style of Jason Munday's "Cartoon Theme Medley!" (on YouTube as "BEST Cartoon Theme Songs EVER!")._

"Sooo…any plans for Heroes' Day this year?" Marinette asked. She tried to sound casual about it. Kept her eyes focused on her sketchbook while Luka picked at his guitar by her feet. He tipped his head back, rested it against her thigh, and smiled up at her.

"…I'm horrible," he said. She glanced at him, her eyebrows lifted in amusement, and he chuckled. "No, really, I am. I totally forgot. Crap. How soon is it?"

"Next week," she said with a laugh. "Wow. This is so weird. I'm usually the one who's so busy she forgets about it. I'm ahead this year."

"Well, the spring exhibition is coming up," he said, lifting his guitar slightly. "It's gonna be a big part of my final grade, and they gave me a solo this year, sooo…"

"You've been working so hard," she cooed. She bent down to kiss his forehead. He rolled his eyes but didn't move. "Sooo...would you maybe be interested in joining Alya, Nino, and me, then?"

"…is that smart? Nino's cool, but Alya's not always my biggest fan," he chuckled, and she tapped his nose.

"She loves you because I love you," she said. "We're going to the children's hospital. Nino got the idea when Chris had his appendix out. There are a lot of really sick kids there that just need to be reminded life is still normal, you know? So we're gonna hang out with them for a few hours. Play some games, read some books – you could bring your guitar and play for them, if you'd like."

"That'd be cool," he said. She reached down and ran her fingers through his hair, and he smiled as his eyes closed. "Yeah, if you guys don't mind. Count me in."

– V –

Marinette was halfway through her fifth book when the fight broke out. Harold the Hamster had just been separated from his beloved owner Sasha when the shouting drew everyone's attention.

It had all been going so well, too. Luka and Nino had gathered a little crowd as they hosted a sing-along. They were doing a lot of Disney songs (she'd choked a bit when the first little girl had asked for _something Disney_ and Luka had broken out Fall Out Boy's "Immortals", because of course he would, and she made him sing "Let It Go" three times in a row for it), some kid songs, and even some old cartoon theme songs. The kids were having a great time, and Luka and Nino were having a great time, and Alya hadn't even given Luka too much grief since she was distracted with two little girls in Ladybug and Rena Rouge pajamas.

"Ok, let's see if you guys know this one," Luka said after singing the Pokémon theme. He started up a familiar strumming, and Nino started cackling when he began singing. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Heroes in a half-shell –"

"Turtle power!" Nino chimed in. Alya caught her eye across the room before rolling hers fondly. Marinette giggled and was about to go back to her book when it happened.

"Is Carapace a Ninja Turtle?" one of the boys around them asked. The boy next to him – wearing a Spiderman onesie – shoved him a little.

"No, dummy! Carapace isn't a _real_ turtle!" the boy said.

"John," the nurse by them said quickly, "we don't push, sweetheart. Or call names."

"But he's _wrong!"_ John whined.

"It's ok, little dude – hey, even if he's not a real turtle, Carapace's still pretty cool, right?" Nino asked. Marinette was about to roll her eyes when John stuck his nose in the air in a defiant little pout.

"He's no Viperion!" he declared, and she bit her lip to hide her smile. "Viperion's the coolest – he can go back in time!"

"Nuh-uh," the first boy said. "Viperion doesn't _do_ anything, not like Chat Noir and Carapace! Carapace's the coolest!"

"Viperion's a snake! That's way cooler!" John argued.

"Plus he's _ripped_," the nurse muttered, not quietly enough. Marinette choked again, feeling like she was having an out of body experience. She looked at Luka, but the only sign he'd heard the nurse's comment was the slight fumbling of his fingers. And maybe a tiny smile in the corner of his mouth as he glanced up at her.

"But he doesn't do –" the other boy started, and John screamed.

"He goes back in time! And he fights! And he looks cool!" he shouted.

"No one's ever seen him use his power –" the first boy started, but Nino cut him off.

"Well, if it's time travel, maybe nobody remembers it? I mean, he wouldn't be a hero if he wasn't useful, right?" he asked.

"I hear he has some sick dance moves," Luka mumbled, and at the look Nino gave him he shrugged. "What? If Peter Quill can save the galaxy with a dance off –"

"Dude, we are not having this discussion _again_," Nino groaned. The boys continued to argue over who was cooler, Carapace or Viperion, before Alya clapped her hands.

"Ooook, guys, I hate to break it up, but you're _both_ wrong!" she called. "Obviously Ladybug's the coolest – can't beat the OG, am I right?"

"What's a OG?" John whispered to the other boy, who shrugged.

"Ladybug's the coolest, but everyone knows that," he said. Before John could say anything else, Luka played a few quick chords to catch their attention.

"So, since we all agree that Ladybug's the best, let's try this one!" he said before he started playing Jagged Stone's "Mirockulous". The fight was forgotten, and Marinette turned back to the kids she had been reading to with a smile.

"Ladybug is the best, but…" the little blonde girl mumbled, twisting her oxygen tube in her fingers, "…Viperion is really cool, too."

Marinette smiled as she ruffled her hair.

"Yeah, you're right," she said with a giggle. "Viperion is pretty cool."

– V –

"You were really good with those kids today, Luka," Alya said as they walked home. They had stopped at a café for drinks after leaving the hospital, and she raised her iced coffee at him in a salute. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks, I think," Luka said with a light chuckle. Marinette squeezed his hand, and he shot a smile at her.

"No, seriously! I was kinda worried when Mari said you'd be coming," Nino said. "Like, Marinette babysits, and Alya and I got younger siblings, but you've got like _no_ experience with kids. You did really great!"

Luka blinked at him, a frown replacing his smile.

"I…have a little sister," he deadpanned. Nino's eyebrows nearly disappeared under his hat.

"Woah, really? No way! I had no idea!" he said. Alya groaned and smacked the back of his head.

"Juleka, nimrod," she said. Marinette and Luka laughed as Nino pouted. "His little sister is _Juleka_."

"Well, yeah, but she's not _little_-little! Like Ella and Etta and Chris! She doesn't count!" Nino said. Luka snorted.

"I'll be sure to let her know," he said. "Being a baby sister only counts if you're a baby."

"Exactly!" Nino cried. He walked a bit ahead with Alya, the couple still bickering fondly over what a nimrod he was. Marinette squeezed Luka's hand again before leaning her head against his shoulder.

"You really were great today," she said, "but you're great at everything, so I wasn't surprised."

"You have too much confidence in me," he chuckled. He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. "But I appreciate it."

"I just like supporting my favorite hero on Heroes' Day," Marinette said with a smirk. He rolled his eyes and tossed his empty drink into a trash bin as they passed. "Ok. Every day. You make it easy to have confidence in you."

"Sap," he chided before dropping a kiss on her head.

"Let it go," she giggled, and he groaned as his head fell back.

"I can't believe how many times that kid made me sing that," he laughed. "Like, Idina's got some amazing pipes, but come on."

"Let it go, babe," she said again, and she squealed when he pulled her into a hug. "Let it go – let _me_ go!"

"Never," he whispered in her ear, and she laughed as she cuddled into him. "I have no intention of ever letting you go, Ma-Ma-Marinette."

"Hey, lovebirds!" Alya called ahead of them, and Marinette grinned as he released her. He kept her tucked against his side, though, and she wasn't complaining. "Catch up!"


	19. Aug 25: Flowers

**25 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Flowers (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste (CHAT BLANC)/Marinette Dupain-Cheng (in a bad way)_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ OK SO. This is NOT complete, because TIME, and that has me Super Annoyed. I had two Very Different ideas for how to tackle this theme (a Lukanette fluff-fest and a Chat Blanc stalker-fest), and they kinda merged into this little angsty gremlin baby. The more I kept working on it, the more it kept getting Involved, and it's NOT a one-shot story so it reads as a bunch of smooshed, rushed scenes. THAT BEING SAID…once this month is over and the WM challenge is complete, I really want to flesh this out into a nice, dark, chapter fic. (The idea is Hawkmoth is unmasked, Chat snaps, Chat finds out LB is Mari, and meanwhile Luka's gone on tour and has set up this flower delivery thing to help with the long distance, only Chat Blanc starts subverting the deliveries and goes crazy vengeful stalker over it? I'm telling y'all this isn't a sandbox it's an entire frickin' PLAYGROUND and I should have just shoved it in a notebook, done it later, and done something that could actually be completed/standalone for this prompt, but once the plunnies started biting...ugh.)_

_**TL;DR: This is a rushed, "Yo Dumbass This Is Not A Short Story Fic" fic that needs to be Done Better later and I'm sorry.**_

Rose looked up as the bell above the door jingled, and her face lit up as she saw her girlfriend's brother enter the flower shop she'd been working at since last summer.

"Luka!" she called, waving from the counter. He looked up and smiled, seeming to relax as he saw the familiar face. He walked over, hands stuffed in his pockets, and continued to glance about at the various displays. "What brings you in here?"

"Hey, Rosie," he said. "I was hoping you'd be working today."

"Oh?" she asked with a grin, bouncing slightly on her feet. "What's up?"

"I needed your help with something," he said. He looked down, and Rose nearly squealed when she saw the light blush on his cheeks. "I'm leaving on tour next week."

"I know," she said, giggling, and he rolled his eyes. "We're all so excited for you!"

"Thanks," he said. "It's just I'm gonna be gone a while, and I wanted to set something up for Marinette while I'm gone. Time zones and schedules are gonna get weird, and I want her to know I'm still thinking about her even if I can't call, y'know? And it's her last year of lycée, and it's gonna be tough, and I hate that I'm not gonna be around to support her."

"Ooooh, Luka!" she did squeal that time, bouncing again. "That's so romantic! Of course I'll help! What were you thinking?"

"Flower deliveries? Spread out over the next few months?" he hazarded, shrugging slightly. "She likes flowers, but you know how I am with words. I was hoping you could help me not mess it up?"

"Of course!" she said. She grabbed a legal pad and a pen from the cup and leaned towards him, grinning like the hopeless romantic she was. "Ok, so were there any specific flowers you were thinking of, or did you wanna go purely on meaning? Maybe aesthetic? What were you thinking?"

"That's why I came to you," he said with a chuckle and shrug. "I dunno. Roses are big, right?"

"Roses are big," she said with a nod, "buuuut they're not your only option. They are very romantic, though."

He looked back around the shop for a moment, and his face lit up when he saw the multicolored tubs of roses in the cooler.

"What about…a single rose, every week? Maybe a blue rose?" he asked, looking back at her in time to see the slight cringe.

"Um…I like the single rose idea," she said, nodding. "You're gonna be gone for four months, right?"

"The first leg, yeah," he said. "We'll be back for a couple weeks around the holidays, but Jagged's got shows booked all the way through next year. I'm not gonna be back long-term until April."

"Ok, so maybe a few bouquets here and there for major events – I can let you know if anything big comes up, but I'm still liking the single rose idea," she said, tapping her pen against the legal pad. "I just don't think we should go with blue."

"Really? I was thinking it'd be appropriate, y'know, 'cause…me," he said with a shrug. She giggled again and shook her head.

"Oh, honey, no," she said. She waved her pen about. "See, everyone thinks roses are for romance and love, except that's really only _red_ roses. The meaning of the rose depends on the color of the rose. If you send her a blue rose, you're basically telling her, 'I can't have you but I want you.' Like they mean your love is unattainable, and not in a long-distance, see-you-in-a-few-months way. More of a creepy, stalker, lurking in the corner way."

"…got it," he said, wincing. "See, this is why I needed your help. So what color would you go with?"

"Luka, leave it all to me," she said with a grin.

– V –

"I can't believe I'm not gonna see you until Christmas," Marinette groaned into Luka's chest. He hummed and held her closer, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He took a deep, steadying breath and tried to hold onto the scent of her shampoo, the perfume she liked to use, the aroma of bread and chocolate that seemed to follow her everywhere. "I'm so proud of you, but this _sucks_."

"Hey, we'll both be busy," he said, though his words were slightly muffled against her collar. "It'll go by sooner than you know."

"Ugh," she groaned. She tried to burrow closer to him, and he chuckled as he gave her a squeeze. "Jagged! You're stealing my boyfriend, and you kinda suck for it!"

The chuckle broke into a full-on laugh as Jagged started fretting at Penny over whether or not his favorite little rock-n-roller hated him now. Luka glanced over and saw Penny rubbing her temples, telling him everything was fine, and he held up a thumb to Jagged. That seemed to mollify him slightly. Luka pulled back a bit and nudged her.

"Hey," he said. He kissed her forehead when she looked up at him. "Everything's gonna be fine. I'll see you soon enough, and I'll call as often as I can. And…"

He reached into his carryon and pulled out a single red rose. Her eyes widened, and a light blush colored her cheeks.

"Keep me in your heart?" he said, holding the rose out to her. "You'll be in mine, Ma-Ma-Marinette."

"Ok, lovebirds, we gotta jet," Jagged called, trotting over to them. He grinned when he saw the rose. "I'll bring him home safe, Marinette. Promise."

Marinette pulled Luka closer for one last kiss. She held the rose close, careful not to squish it between them, and gave him a slight shove when she pulled back.

"Ok, ok," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Go, before I turn into a total loser and start crying. Penny, take care of our boys, ok?"

"Oi!" Jagged whined, pulling her into a hug. "Why Penny? I can take care of him just fine! Don't you trust me, Marinette?"

"Because _I'm_ the responsible one," Penny quipped as she gave Marinette a hug of her own. "See you at Christmas, Marinette."

– V –

September was easy. Well, easier than she'd thought it'd be.

Her final year at lycée started much like any other school year did. Sure, there was more work, life after lycée was looming ever closer, and her stress level was skyrocketing, and she missed her boyfriend like crazy, but it was manageable. She texted Luka daily, and they made time for a phone call at least once a week.

Plus, there were the flowers. On the first day of school, Marinette walked into the kitchen to find a stunning bouquet of blue hyacinths, lavender, and a pink flower she didn't really recognize sitting on the counter. Her mother told her they were delivered for her, and she smiled as Marinette read the card.

_Rose said this means "devotion", "constancy", and "I miss you". Knock 'em dead, babe. – L_

And every Friday after, she entered her homeroom to find either a red or a burgundy rose sitting on her desk. Occasionally there would be the pink flower from the first bouquet again, but usually it was the roses. And it helped, knowing that Luka was thinking of her even when he was so far away.

...it was even better when he texted her after the first show of the tour. A photo of the dressing room was included, showing Jagged displaying the vase of pink and white carnations in a Will Smith "LOOK AT MY BOY!" pose while Luka hid his face in his hands. She'd arranged the delivery with Penny and Rose weeks ago, the flowers specifically chosen because their color scheme matched her and meant "I love you" and "I will never forget you". _Great minds think alike! xo,_ she'd texted him back.

– V –

And then came October, and everything went to hell.

Hawkmoth had been growing more active over the past few months, but with the fall he seemed more desperate than ever. Marinette was running herself ragged trying to keep up with her school work and defending Paris, and then Hawkmoth slipped up.

Nathalie Sancoeur tracked down Ladybug and Chat Noir, and she told them that Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste. When they questioned how she knew this, she handed them the long-lost Peacock Miraculous.

"Because I am Mayura," she said, shame and guilt coloring her face, "and…I can't do this anymore."

She told them everything. About how Gabriel had gotten the Butterfly Miraculous, how Emilie Agreste wasn't missing but was instead the original wielder of the Peacock, how it had been damaged and that had damaged Emilie, and how she was in a subbasement of the Agreste Manor on failing life support because Gabriel believed he could heal her with the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous stones. How she had always supported Gabriel because she loved him and his family, but Gabriel was getting worse – willing to sacrifice anything to return Emilie to life. How he had started jeopardizing his own son, and she loved Adrien – she couldn't see him hurt like that.

"It started as a noble cause, Ladybug," Nathalie said, raising her head to finally look at her. "I know you don't believe that, but it was. Gabriel had the best intentions at heart, even if his methods were questionable. But…I am tired of being the villain. Not if it means this. Not…"

"You're lying," Chat Noir spat, cutting her off. "You're…you have to be lying!"

"Chat," Ladybug said, reaching out to touch his arm, but he shrugged her off.

"No! No! She's wrong! She has to be…she's wrong!" he shouted, and he darted away before either of them could stop him.

Nathalie took her to the Agreste Manor, but when they got there – when Nathalie showed her the secret entrance to Hawkmoth's lair, when she took her to the basement where Gabriel kept Emilie – it was too late. Gabriel Agreste was crumpled on the ground, barely moving. Nathalie raced to his side, ignoring the shaking hero standing above him, but Ladybug froze when she saw her partner.

His suit was white.

He turned his head, just slightly, and his eyes were a glowing violet, encased by a butterfly mask.

His hand was clenched in a fist, and she could see silver points sticking out between his bloodied fingers.

"Chat…" she struggled to say, but he turned and darted away through a hole he had cataclysmed in the wall.

She stayed long enough to oversee the arrest (…transport, really, as Gabriel was taken into custody but had to be taken to the hospital first), but then she had fled back to her balcony. She fell to her knees, her transformation dropping as she reached up to catch her kwami.

"Tikki…his suit was white," she said, swallowing thickly around the lump in her throat. "Why was his suit white?"

"Marinette, you need to calm down," Tikki said soothingly, grabbing her thumb. Marinette shook her head.

"Where did he go? The Butterfly…did he take it? Gabriel didn't have it on him. Tikki, where's the Butterfly Miraculous?" Marinette asked frantically. Her breath was coming in shorter gasps, and Tikki flew up to hug her cheek.

"Calm down, Marinette," she said. "Hawkmoth is in custody. Chat…we'll go to Master Fu tomorrow. We'll figure this out. Breathe, Marinette. Breathe."

Marinette rolled onto her side and groaned, covering her head with her hands. Her eyes locked on the planter with the lavender and hyacinths, and she focused on that as she tried to control her breathing. Tikki hovered over her, running a tiny paw along her hair and whispering soothing encouragements to her chosen.

Neither saw the pale figure leaping away from the neighboring roof.

– V –

She didn't sleep much that night. When she walked into homeroom the next day and saw the rose on her desk, she smiled for the first time in hours. There were three this time: two blue roses and a deep, dark crimson rose. She'd almost call it black, but in the light it was definitely red. She sank into her seat and lifted the little bouquet to her nose, her smile growing as she inhaled their fragrance.

Juleka came in while she was sending a text to Luka. _I love them. I love you. Thank you. Blue roses from my blue boy_, she typed out. She smiled as she sniffed the flowers again, and she let herself believe that everything was going to be fine. She'd go to Master Fu after school, and everything would be fine.

She missed the frown Juleka was giving her and, more specifically, the three roses.

– V –

She ended up using her lunch break to meet with Master Fu. He was concerned, and they agreed that after school Marinette would patrol the city looking for Chat Noir.

She was halfway back to school when her phone buzzed.

_Blue? The roses were blue?_

She frowned at the text. She pulled up the photo she had taken and sent it to him.

_Sorry. Confused. I was gonna send you blue but Ro said they were bad? And don't black roses mean someone died?_

She froze at the crosswalk to her school.

_Nvm. I'll ask Ro later. I'm glad you liked them. That's all that matters. I miss you._

She looked up from her phone as a car honked, and she froze when she saw Chat Noir lurking on the roof of her school. His white suit blended perfectly with the stone of the building, but the blue rose in his fingers stuck out like a sore thumb. He winked at her before dashing off.

– V –

Chat Noir was stalking her.

Marinette was fairly sure of that.

He danced along the periphery of her life, making sure she knew he was there but never letting her catch him. He remained perfectly hidden, untouchable.

When she got back from an unsuccessful patrol Friday night, her balcony was littered with blue and black rose petals. She would have thought it was sweet if she had still believed they came from Luka. Saturday and Sunday proved even less fruitful (with even more flowers), and by the time she trudged into homeroom on Monday she was exhausted. The sight of the single white rose on her desk made her freeze.

_Please tell me this is you, _she texted Luka as she sent him a photo of her desk.

_I'm Fridays. Babe, I'm getting worried,_ he sent back, and she swallowed thickly as she sat in her desk. She took the rose and stuffed it in her bag, ignoring it.

The next day, there was another small cluster: two white, one yellow. There was yellow the day after that. A bag of petals the day after that: yellow, white, black, and blue. On Friday, the red rose was back, but the stem had been ripped in half and the bloom crushed.

"Mari…" Juleka said beside her, her hand squeezing her shoulder.

"I don't think I like flowers anymore, Juls," she said, swallowing around the lump in her throat. Juleka removed the rose and sent a quick _SOS_ text to her brother and her girlfriend. Rose got back to her immediately, though her message wasn't comforting. While white roses were currently associated with purity and often used at weddings, apparently they originally signified a heart unacquainted with love. Yellow, while now used to signify friendship, originally signified jealousy and infidelity, or a jilted lover. Rose told her they used them all the time, but she had been very intentional with Luka's flowers for Marinette. She had stuck with red for love and a darker red for beauty, and occasionally she sent a pink camellia instead to say _I miss you_. She told her she had dropped off the rose that morning, but she hadn't delivered any others that week – and she certainly hadn't left any at Marinette's home.

"What's going on, Juleka?" Luka said by way of greeting when he called her at lunch.

"I don't know," Juleka sighed. "We think someone's messing up your flowers."

"Obviously," Luka said. He sounded agitated. "Is Marinette all right? She's not answering her phone."

"I think she went home for lunch," Juleka said. She scanned the canteen, but she didn't see her friend.

"Damn it," Luka hissed, and Juleka sighed as she heard something crash on his end. "I've got a bad feeling about this, Juls. I hate that I'm not there."

"I know," Juleka said. "We're watching out for her, bro. Hey, at least Hawkmoth's been defeated. At least you don't have to worry about her getting akumatized."

He was silent at that, and she groaned as she leaned back against the wall.

"Relax, Luka," she said. "I'm sure it's nothing. Mari's pretty popular. She might just have a secret admirer that got jealous of all the flowers you kept sending her."

"That doesn't make any sense, and you know it," he said. There was shouting from his end, and he groaned. "I have to go. There's this really old studio here that so many great legends have used, and Jagged snagged us a couple hours there before the show tonight. I just…tell Mari…"

"She knows, and I will," Juleka said. "Go on. We're fine here."

She didn't believe that, though. Not really.


	20. Aug 26: Wedding

**26 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Wedding (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ I tried to limit this to like thirty minutes (it was more fifteen) 'cause I had no time today. Ugh. I'm lukewarm at best about it._

"Is it horrible that, as happy as I am for them and as much as I believe that they're meant to be together, I can't believe they're actually getting _married?"_

Luka glanced up from where he was sitting on the mostly-cleared-off deck of the Liberty to look at Marinette with raised eyebrows. Juleka and Rose spun around the area cleared off for a dance floor in matching dresses _that Marinette had designed_, on a boat _Marinette had decorated_, lost in each other's eyes and the glow of young love. Marinette sat in one of the ribbon-and-flower-covered deck chairs beside him in the black and pink Maid of Honor dress she'd made, watching the couple dance with a frown on her face.

"…what?" he asked, dumbfounded. Flummoxed. Confused. "Mari, you've been so instrumental to the planning of this thing. How can you say that _now?"_

"No, no, no – don't misunderstand!" she said quickly, grabbing his hand and squeezing. "I love Juleka and Rose, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat! If anyone should be getting married, it's them!"

"Good to know," he said with a chuckle, "since that's what we're all celebrating today."

"It's just…we're only _nineteen_," she said.

"Juleka's twenty. I'm twenty two," he said with a shrug. She rolled her eyes and nudged him with her knee. Her thumb began rubbing against the ring on his pointer finger as she looked back at the newlyweds.

"I guess I just didn't think any of us would be getting married yet," she said. "I mean…I figured I'd at least finish my Licence first. Maybe not even until I was working for a design house or have the boutique open. Alya told Nino that if he even thinks of proposing before she's got a year at a legitimate publication under her belt she'll 'dump his ass'."

"…that checks," he said with a laugh. He glanced back at his baby sister and new sister-in-law, frowning for a moment before he returned his attention to Marinette. "So wait…when's the earliest I can propose now?"

"Wait, what?" she asked, jerking her head back to his direction. He chuckled and brought her knuckles up to his lips, kissing them.

"You can't be too surprised that I've been thinking about it," he said. "So what major events should I be waiting for? Graduation? Your first big internship? The boutique?"

"…whenever," she said, her voice fluttering as much as her heart. She looked back to Juleka and Rose, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. Luka chuckled again and turned her hand, pressing his lips against her palm.

"Good to know," he murmured against her skin. "Whenever it is."


	21. Aug 27: Celebration

**27 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Celebration (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Jagged Stone/Penny Rolling, Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Luka Couffaine_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ Them Miraculous Instas got me right in the Feels. This is just shippy trash._

Sabine looked up as the bell above the door to the bakery jangled, and she smiled warmly at the man poking his head in. Large sunglasses covered his face, and purple-tipped hair poked out from underneath a black bucket hat. Despite the warm day, he wore a bulky, charcoal-colored pea coat, but yellow and black-striped trousers stuck out from the hem. He was glancing around the empty bakery, and Sabine's smile only grew at his antics.

She would recognize Jagged Stone anywhere. He was practically family by this point.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Stone!" she called from the counter. The rocker winced and shrank back, his head ducking into the large collar of his coat. She laughed and waved, and he relaxed. He strolled inside with his hands in his pockets, an air of confidence about him that didn't suggest he'd just been skulking in her doorway. "How can we help you today?"

"Mama Cheng, good to see you again!" he said, reaching over the counter to pull her into quick, one-armed hug. "Sorry, trying to stay _in-cog-ni-to_ today. I'm on a secret mission."

She tried not to laugh at the way he stretched out _incognito_, instead nodding and saying, "I see."

"Is Marinette around? I need her help," he said. Sabine frowned. Usually, Penny was the one to arrange Jagged and Marinette's meetings – or, well, _any_ of Jagged's meetings. She honestly hadn't really believed the man did much anything on his own anymore. Sensing her confusion, he leaned closer, held a hand to shield his mouth, and whispered, "Penny can't know. It's a surprise."

"Of course. She should be upstairs. Let me just give her a call," Sabine said. She grabbed her phone and dialed Marinette. It went straight to voicemail. "Strange…I hadn't thought she'd left."

She tried dialing Tom, who had gone up to make them a quick lunch. He picked up on the first ring and told her yes, Marinette was still in her room – the loud music pulsing through the floor proved that. She rolled her eyes fondly.

"She has a visitor. I'm sending him up," she said. She bit back the laugh as she heard Tom shout to Marinette that Luka was coming up – he'd been visiting an awful lot recently – and disconnected the call. "You can go on up. I'm sure you remember the way."

"Rock on, Mama Cheng!" Jagged said, giving her another quick hug before making his way upstairs.

– V –

As soon as he entered the apartment above the bakery, Jagged could hear his latest single pulsing through the ceiling. He grinned as he looked up at Marinette's door, thinking, _Totally rock-n-roll!_

"Oh! You're not Luka!" Tom laughed as he turned around. He reached for his hand to shake it, but Jagged pulled him into a hug instead. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Stone!"

"Aw, come on, Papa Dupain – you can call me Jagged!" Jagged said, bumping shoulders with him. "Is it ok if I bug our girl for a bit? I have a top-secret project I need her help with."

"Sure thing," Tom said. He gestured to her door. "I'm sure you'll have no problem finding her."

Jagged grinned and gave him a two-fingered salute before jogging over to the stairs.

"Knock-knock!" he called as he rapped on the door and pushed it open. He poked his head through the floor just as the bridge hit, and his eyes widened in delight as Marinette leapt from her desk chair, kicked it back, and started shredding on an air guitar. (He was even more impressed to note the positioning of her fingers was realistic – _someone_ had been practicing!) He hopped into her room and started cheering and clapping, cackling as she struck a power stance to finish the song. "Rock on! Marinette, that was amazing!"

She shrieked and jumped back, stumbling into her desk.

"JAGGED!" she screeched. He gave her a sheepish smile and waved again, sorry for startling her. "Oh my God – I didn't hear you come in!"

"Well, yeah," he laughed, walking over and giving her a high-five. "You were totally shredding it! Who's been teaching you those moves, eh?"

Her cheeks turned pink, and his grin widened. Oh, so there _was_ a someone then? She laughed nervously and lightly shoved him, waving it off.

"Pffft – knock it off! You know I'm a fan," she said. She grinned as they hugged. "What's with the spy getup, anyway? You look like Alya on one of her stalker-reporter missions."

He grinned and quickly removed his hat and coat. Marinette smiled, glad to see his hair was purple again (the blond hadn't looked _bad_, but it just wasn't _him_). He propped the shades up on his head before placing his hands on his hips.

"I need your help as my number one designer and the coolest chick in all of Paris," he said. Her cheeks darkened, and she rolled her eyes. He grinned and poked her forehead. "Top secret project – so _no telling Penny!_ What do you say, Marinette? You in?"

"Um…sure? What exactly is the project, though?" she asked. He sat down on her desk chair, and she hopped up on a clear space on her desk.

"Ok, so you know the launch party for my next album is in a few weeks. Big to-do, lots of people, rockin' celebration," he said. She nodded, and he grinned as he pulled out a small jewelry box. Her eyes widened as he popped it open to reveal an engagement ring – at least, she figured it was an engagement ring. The diamond was purple and shaped like a skull, and light teal stones encircled it. The band was a shiny black metal that gleamed purple in the light. It was very unique, and very Jagged. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"She's going to _love_ it!" Marinette said, but she was frowning. "But…what do you need my help for?"

"Well, I need to talk to your parents about an order for the party, too, but I need _your_ help with this. The box is so boring, and Penny's so _not_ boring, you know?" he asked. She nodded, understanding perfectly. The jewelry box was a lovely dark red, but it was still just a plain jewelry box. Not very rock-n-roll. Not very _Rolling Stone_. "Any ideas? I want to propose at the party, but I'm still not quite sure on the how. Plus, it's _Penny_. She deserves better than this boring old ring box."

They spent the better part of an hour kicking around ideas. By the time they finally settled on something they agreed on, Marinette's floor was covered with crumpled up pieces of paper proving how fickle her favorite rocker could be. Though, to be fair, she had a feeling it was more nerves than his being _fickle_ – Jagged wasn't really that complicated, and (as he loved to tell anyone who would listen) she just _got him_, so landing on an idea he liked wasn't really the problem. It was more landing on an idea he liked best, that Penny would also like, and wouldn't involve calling in either Animal Control, the Fire Marshall, or both.

He was in the middle of regaling her with a tale from his last tour, and she was half-buried in the old Adrien Presents Chest (that had become her fabric bin), when her phone buzzed from the desk. Jagged picked it up and grinned at the face accompanying the text alert. The grin grew when he noticed the wallpaper behind the notification.

"Hey, I know this guy!" he said excitedly, brandishing the phone at Marinette. She looked up, and she squeaked when she saw Luka's picture smiling back at her. "He's awesome – totally rock-n-roll! We jammed at Adrien's party a while back. You know him, Marinette?"

"U-um, yeah," she said, looking back to her fabric with a blush on her cheeks. She smiled slightly and fiddled with her hair. "He's a friend. I mean, my friend's brother. I mean, he's a friend, too, but…yeah, I know him."

Jagged grinned at her reaction. He hadn't missed how most of the pictures of Adrien had vanished from her walls – or the fact that the blue-haired boy from the phone appeared in some of the photos that had replaced them. He glanced at the notification – _hey, u home?_ – and his grin grew. His voice was teasing as he said, "Sounds like he wants to come over."

"What?!" she yelped, spazzing a bit as she jerked away from the chest. She fell back on her rump and stared at him with wide eyes and red cheeks.

"Hey, it's cool! I still need to talk to your parents about that order, and we're pretty much done, right? You can hang out with your boyfriend, Marinette," he laughed. Her face grew darker.

"H-he's not my boyfriend!" she shrieked. A look of horrified panic was plastered on her face. "I-I mean, he's a friend, who's a boy, so he's a friend-boy, but he's not my _boyfriend_. He's…he's…he's just Luka."

Jagged just smiled at that. Marinette said _he's just Luka_ like he used to say _she's just Penny._ He tossed the phone at her as it buzzed again, and she scrambled to catch it. She quickly unlocked it and checked the messages, her face softening as she read.

"Hey, Jagged…" she started, her thumbs hovering over her phone. "I still wanted to find that fabric to show you, anyway. Um…can I ask a favor?"

He grinned as he leaned back in her chair, resting his arms behind his head. He winked at her and said, "Anything for you, little lady."

– V –

"Marinette, you up here? Your dad said I could come u…"

Maybe fifteen minutes had passed before Luka arrived. Whatever he was going to say died in his throat as _Jagged Stone_ grabbed his hand and yanked him into Marinette's room.

"…whoa," he breathed, jaw dropping slightly.

"Hey, there! Luka, right? Good to see you again, mate!" Jagged said, holding up his hand for a high-five. Luka robotically raised his hand and slapped it against Jagged's. When he heard the giggling from the desk, he looked at Marinette and pointed to Jagged.

"…Jagged Stone is in your bedroom," he said, gobsmacked.

"Well, he was in Adrien's bedroom the last time you met," she said with a smile. Luka shook his head and grinned.

"Your life, Marinette," he said. His smile was nervous, clearly rattled, as he looked back at Jagged. "I can't believe you actually remember me."

"You kidding? You're almost as talented as our girl over there!" Jagged laughed, tossing an arm across Luka's shoulders. He leaned in and stage-whispered to him, "Though I only say that because I've known her longer and she's my favorite. You're still crazy talented, though. You've got a bright future ahead of you, kid."

"Oh, wow. Thank you so much, Mr. Stone," he said, and Jagged punched his shoulder.

"Cut it out – Mr. Stone's my dad! I'm Jagged," he said. He led him over to the desk. "C'mere – check out this awesome box Marinette's making me!"

Luka looked at Marinette with wide eyes, and she giggled as she held up her sketchbook. He smiled at the designs sprawling across the page, and was about to comment when Jagged slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Oh, shoot! You know what? I totally forgot I needed to get some macarons for Fang, too! And I still have to place that order! I'll be back in a bit, guys – stay out of trouble!" he said. He put his hands on Luka's shoulders and directed him to the spot on the desk Marinette had been sitting earlier, and then he made a hasty retreat back downstairs. Marinette rolled her eyes fondly before looking back to her sketchbook.

"Real subtle, Jagged," she muttered. Luka reached out and took her hand, weaving their fingers together.

"Mari," he said, making her look up at him. He was grinning, glancing between her and the trap door. "_Jagged Stone_."

"He's a friend," she giggled, squeezing his hand, "who was apparently very impressed by another friend. And wanted to meet said friend again. He's probably gonna be back up in five minutes with bread guitars for you two to rock out on."

Luka shook his head in amazement. He had known Marinette had designed a few things for Jagged, had known Jagged had filmed that reality show at the bakery, but somehow the fact that _Marinette knew Jagged Stone_ and was _actually friends with his rock idol_ hadn't really connected. It was a bit staggering.

"I think I need a minute to digest," he said, chuckling. Marinette grinned as she heard Jagged and her dad singing loudly from downstairs.

"You've got maybe two," she giggled as the voices echoed through the open door.

"_Flour, eggs, and buuuuu-ttaaaaahhhh!"_


	22. Aug 28: Family

**28 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Family (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Papa Couffaine_

_**Rating:**__ K Plus / PG / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ …um. I have no excuse for this. I think I started channeling some shit at some point. Angsty. TBW probably. People who leave are better than people who keep leaving._

_because sometimes every inch of you is bruised_

_and there's nothing left to prove_

_so just hold the one you can't have in the sweet arms of a tune_

_yeah, hold the one you can't love in the sweet arms of a tune_

_. . : : sweet arms of a tune – missy higgins : : . ._

"Have a great day, ma'am," Luka said as he handed the woman with a large hat and oversized sunglasses her change. She nodded curtly and moved on to the end of the counter, and Luka took a moment to breathe. He usually worked the afternoons, thanks to school, but every now and then his manager asked him to pick up a morning shift on the weekend. It wasn't always bad: he liked the little café he'd started working at the previous spring. It had a nice, laid-back atmosphere, the pay was good, and the owners had offered him a fairly steady gig on Friday nights. As first jobs go, it could have been a lot worse.

The morning had just been…taxing. He'd performed the night before, and while he hadn't stayed too late he'd spent a good two hours after the performance walking around the city with Marinette – and even longer after that texting her once he'd seen her home. When Elise had called him at six-thirty that morning because Trevor had called out, he'd sorely considered chucking his phone out the porthole. So he was already tired to begin with, and then the weekend rush had come through. He reached up and rubbed at his eyes with his forearm. At least the crowd was tapering off. Two more hours, and he could crash…

The door opened, a small family entering and bringing with them the busy sounds of Paris beyond the relative calm he'd been enjoying. He slapped on his best Customer Service smile as the couple made their way over to the counter, their young daughter bouncing around their feet. They hovered just beyond where the line would form, perusing the menu board, and he mentally sighed.

_Take your time_, he thought. _We're here all day._

The little girl – maybe only five, six years old – was tugging on her dad's hand and asking if she could get a pain au chocolat. The Ladybug doll she held flopped against her side with every bounce, and the sight brought a slight smile to his lips. Her dad laughed and nodded, swinging their arms between them as he asked his wife something, and Luka froze as the motion shifted his sleeve and revealed a tattoo on his arm.

He knew that tattoo.

The family finally approached, and Luka's throat went dry as he looked up into the not-really-familiar brown eyes of his father.

He didn't look the same. He only sort of recognized the eyes, lined with the warm wrinkles of too much laughter and not enough ghosts, because he saw them every day in his sister. His black hair was significantly shorter, cut almost professionally, and sprinkled with salt-and-pepper gray. He looked…casual. Professional, but weekend professional. An ivory button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and slipping, barely hiding the anchor tattoo emblazoned with _A.C._ on the rope (_Anarka Couffaine_, when it was fresh and he was drunk and in love with a mad woman, but _Andrew Couffaine_ now that it's old and faded and marked with mistakes), was worn instead of a broken-in band shirt. He didn't even wear a jacket, let alone an old, black denim vest with fraying edges. His ripped jeans had been replaced with slacks, the heavy boots Luka had stumbled around in for an entire summer when he was seven by sensible brown loafers. The piercings – the eyebrow, the earrings – were gone, probably closed up by now. So was the eyeliner.

He looked like a grownup.

There was one photo of him that had survived the carnage of his mother's broken heart. The man in that photo was a stranger to the man before him, though Luka guessed he'd always been a stranger, in the end. He remembered the last night, when he was seven and still trying to convince the world those boots weren't too big, that he had seen his father. He'd been walking down the gangway, arm raised high and middle finger raised higher, as his mother screamed at him to _never come back, not one more time, not again, I mean _it from the deck. She'd collected everything she could find that night – the photos, the old acoustic guitar Luka had first learned to play on, the boots – and tossed them into the Seine. He remembered wanting to cry as he watched those boots fly over the railing, but Juleka had already been crying so hard he'd known he couldn't. Those tears were hers, and he wouldn't take them from her. Not when Andrew Couffaine had already taken so much. The photos – snapshots, family photos, every last one that held his face but one – had fueled the fire their mother had sat beside as she downed an entire bottle of dark Caribbean rum. The only one to survive was the one he'd kept under his pillow, stashed in a box under his bed now, of the four of them when they were…not happier, but less miserable.

Not as happy as he looked now, with a laughing blonde on his arm and a daughter – his sister? – tugging on his other.

His sister.

His _sister_.

Juleka didn't talk about him anymore, but he knew she still had nightmares. Sometimes. He could hear her in their shared cabin, when she woke up crying and wondering what she had done wrong. Not that often anymore, but sometimes. When days were harder. When she was feeling more invisible than usual. It was less now, now that she had Rose and her friends and had started believing some people actually do stay. That some people don't leave and come back just to leave again and again and again, just because they're broken and don't know any other way to be.

"Son?" Andrew Couffaine asked, and the breath Luka forced in was scraping. He had been talking. Ordering, probably. And Luka hadn't heard a damn word of it, but he heard that word. That term of…not endearment, because there was no recognition on Andrew Couffaine's face. He was looking at him like he was an incompetent teenager, another lazy youth who was just bad at his job. He called him _son_ like he'd call Andrew Couffaine _old man_.

"…I'm not your son," he said harshly, automatically. From the corner of his eye, he saw Elise – who had been restocking the pastry case – bristle. He'd pay for that one later. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and when he opened them Andrew Couffaine was still staring at him like he'd flipped him off. _That's your move, old man._ "Sorry. What can I get you, sir?"

The order was placed, the money was paid (the recoiling when their fingers brushed as it exchanged hands unnoticed), and the not-but-new Couffaines moved on to wait for their food. The little girl peeked up at him above her Ladybug's yarn hair, and she smiled before her parents tugged her along. When they were walking out the door, she looked back and waved, the chocolate smeared on her face reminding him of another little girl with darker hair but matching eyes.

"I like his hair," he heard her tell their father as the door closed. "It's pretty."

– V –

Elise let him leave early. She had been furious over the 'attitude' copped with a customer, but once he'd explained – in as few words as possible – she'd understood. She told him to go home, to sleep, and she'd see him on Monday.

He didn't go home.

He couldn't risk his mother being there.

He couldn't face Juleka.

Marinette looked so happy when she opened the door to see him, until she _saw_ him and her entire demeanor deflated.

…he'd done that.

He opened his mouth, desperate for the words to answer her worried _what's wrong?_, but he choked on them instead. He wasn't sure who moved first, whether he collapsed into her or she moved to gather him up, but they were tumbling to their knees in her doorway, and he couldn't breathe again, but she was there.

She was _there_, and she wasn't going anywhere.


	23. Aug 29: Height Difference

**29 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Height Difference (Trope)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Marinette Dupain-Cheng(/Luka Couffaine), General Cast_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ This is pure goofball trash because work was HORRIBLE today (it was one of those days were if it could go wrong it did and Kept Getting Worse). Everyone in my family is at or around six foot in height except my gran (4'8" when she died). Guess who I take after? (I took liberties with Adrien's height. In Timetagger, it looks like Future LB's shoulders come to Chat's bicep, but where's the fun in that?)_

The summer between Marinette's first and second years in lycée was not the best summer of her life. It's not that it was _bad_, per se, it was just…boring. Very uneventful. Where the previous summers had been filled with friends and lazy days in the sun (or not-so-lazy days masquerading as 'lazy', in true summer fashion), that particular summer found her picking up extra shifts at her parents' bakery. And while the extra cash was nice, the main reason she was working so much was because…well, most of her friends had left town or were busy.

Alya had snagged an internship with Nadja Chamack and spent most of her days at the TVi studios. What free time she did have was usually spent with Nino, but Nino was just as unavailable most days because of his own summer job. Adrien was spending a good part of the summer in either London or New York thanks to commitments to the Agreste brand. If a good part of those trips were shared with either Chloé (New York, thanks to her mom) or Kagami (London, thanks to both her mom and his dad), Marinette…well. Wasn't as concerned as she used to be. That was thanks to her boyfriend – _boyfriend_, she still had trouble believing some days – Luka, except Luka had completed lycée the year before, and to celebrate Anarka was taking the Liberty on a summer-long sailing vacation. And of course Juleka went with them, and Rose's parents had even let her go along (her parents had been…less keen on the idea of her being alone on a boat with the Couffaines – with one particular Couffaine – for an entire summer, as awesome and understanding as they usually were). Alix and Kim were alternating their weeks either attending sports camps for teens or working at the same camps' younger programs. Nathaniel and Marc were volunteering with another summer camp, and even Max was tied up in gaming tournaments and computer camps most of the summer. She just…didn't have anyone to hang out with.

The only time any of their schedules seemed to coincide was the last week before the school year was set to begin, and they had all planned a little picnic celebration at the park to catch up before they were once again too busy with school and responsibilities to do so. Marinette had arrived a little early to help set up, and immediately upon entering the park she was struck with the realization that life? Was not fair.

At.

All.

Apparently there had been something in the water wherever her friends had been staying all summer, because by the time she finally saw them again Puberty had struck and struck _hard._

Alya had always been a little taller than her, and maybe she just hadn't noticed her growing over the summer because – while still infrequently – she had at least _seen_ her on occasion. Still, when she waved her over to where Nino was setting up his sound system and pulled her into a hug, Marinette felt dwarfed. And then Nino glomped onto both of them, and she realized her scrawny friend was…kinda buff? He'd shot up a good head and filled out to boot, plus there was that weird, scratchy, not-a-beard thing he had going on. (There was a thin line of hair outlining his jaw, like he had wanted a beard but also wanted the most minimalistic beard possible. It actually kind of worked on him, though?)

"Girl! You're so _tiny!"_ Alya laughed as she rubbed a noogie into her head. She groaned and shoved at her. "You're a _Mini-_nette!"

"Shut up!" she wined playfully. She was only maybe a little bitter. "My mom's short."

"Yeah, but your dad's like…Ivan," Nino said with a shrug, nodding his head towards their massive friend. Marinette rolled her eyes but waved back when the drummer waved at her. Ivan had always been big, but the _big_ had turned into _defined_ over the summer. He almost made her think of a bouncer. "You'd think you'd at least balance out between the two of 'em. You haven't even grown an inch, little dudette!"

"…do not tell me that's going to be a thing now," Marinette sighed, burying her face in her hands. Nino grinned, about to say something, when he spotted Adrien and Kagami walking up.

"Yo, Adrien! Welcome home, bro!" he called. He let Alya and Marinette go to run over to his best bro, and Marinette silently screamed into her hands. Alya cackled as Kagami approached them.

"Marinette?" she asked, frowning. Marinette was at least relieved to see that Kagami hadn't grown much – maybe an inch or so taller, but still short enough for solidarity. "Are you all right?"

"She's having an identity crisis," Alya laughed, patting her shoulder. Marinette threw her arms out towards Adrien as the guys came over, making them pause.

"I mean, _come on!"_ she cried. She stomped over to Adrien, stood as tall as she could, and leveled a hand between the top of her head and his…neck. Shoulders. …oh, God, incredibly ripped bicep. She was as tall as his _bicep._ Adrien smiled awkwardly, looking between Nino and Alya for support, but Nino just shrugged as Alya continued laughing. "How is this fair?!"

"Um…hi, Marinette," Adrien said, waving slightly. She slapped his hand away.

"Don't you _hi, Marinette_ me, you…you…_giant_," she sniffed. He looked concerned for a moment, but she rolled her eyes and held her arms out for a hug. "Hi, Adrien."

She wondered slightly, as he bent to hug her, if this was how her mother felt every time her father hugged her.

"Hey, I want in, too!"

Marinette shrieked as she was lifted into the air and spun around. When she was safely on the ground again, she looked up to see Kim high-fiving Adrien. Of course Kim had grown, too. He was just a little shorter than Adrien (seriously, how tall did Adrien Agreste need to be?!), except Adrien had started experimenting with facial hair. It was just a little stubble, but it was more than she would have thought his father would let him get away with. Alix laughed and lightly punched her shoulder, and Marinette groaned. Even meeting Bunnix all those years ago – even knowing that Alix would grow – still didn't prepare her for the reality of _Alix Kubdel_ being a good head taller than her.

"I hate all of you," she sighed before trudging over to help Mylène set up the food table. Mylène gave her a sympathetic smile.

"You get used to it," she said kindly. She glanced over at Ivan and smiled. Mylène, at least, like Kagami had stayed the same height. "I started puberty early, so my doctor said I probably won't grow much more. If I grow anymore at all."

"…my mom's short," Marinette said with a half-hearted shrug. They shared a commiserating giggle at that, and Marinette shrugged again. "It's not that bad, I guess. I guess I just never thought I'd be…Alix. Oh my God. Mylène, I'm Alix."

Mylène laughed and was about to say something to that when her smile turned into a grin. Marinette grinned back.

"What?" she asked warily, and she squeaked again when a pair of arms – strong arms, with familiar bracelets and painted nails on the end – wrapped around her shoulders. She went to lean back against Luka's chest, but she frowned when he felt…different. She looked up, confused. "…Luka?"

"You're Ma_-My-_Marinette, not Alix," he said, smiling down at her, "and you're at the perfect hug height."

Her cheeks warmed as he bent down to kiss her, and really it just wasn't fair. Because Luka was almost nineteen and should have been done growing by now, but somehow he had still gotten taller during his time away? He was almost as tall as her dad. Just a bit shorter than Adrien. Still dwarfing her. She sighed and settled against him, tipping her head back to smile up at him. Her head rested against his shoulder, but he was still bent around her. It was…nice. Protective. Safe. She smiled and reached up, hugging his arms closer.

"Perfect hug-height, huh?" she asked, giggling as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. He needed a shave, too. She realized that _this_ was probably how her mom felt, every time her dad wrapped her up in one of his encompassing hugs. "I guess I'll take it."


	24. Aug 30: Pining

**30 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Pining (Word)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Jagged Stone/Penny Rolling, Adrien Agreste & Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ This kinda turned into a rambly, fluffy mess. Ah well. I don't think Luka would get jealous like Adrien gets jealous, but I think – after being away long enough – there would be a slight…jealous-adjacent feeling that comes from missing the one you love and wanting to be home._

_passport, customs, carryon – remember to shut off all of your electronic devices_

_fell asleep on tuesday woke up monday afternoon_

_i slept right through your international date line_

_. . : : takeoffs and landings – the ataris : : . ._

"Four months," Marinette said firmly. She held onto Luka a bit tighter, pressing against him a bit closer, trying to memorize him a bit better. Her nose nuzzled against his hoodie, breathing in that scent of river and faded denim and _him_, and she let a little whine escape when his lips pressed against her neck. "It's only four months."

"It'll be gone in a flash," Luka murmured, the words feeling like another kiss as he had yet to move away from her neck. "We'll both be too busy to notice."

"_I'll_ be busy," she said with a snort. "You'll be babysitting Jagged through half of western Europe."

"Penny's the babysitter," he chuckled. "I'm more like the boyfriend who got to sneak over while she watched the kid."

"…that was a horrible analogy. You should be ashamed of yourself," she snorted, shaking her head. She gave him an extra squeeze for emphasis. "Besides, you're _my_ boyfriend, and Penny's the wife, not the babysitter."

"When it comes to Jagged, is there a difference?" he whispered, and she choked on a laugh before collapsing against him.

"Right, you two – they're singing our song!" Jagged called as he ran over. Sure enough, the boarding call echoed through the airport moments later, and Marinette groaned as she held on tighter.

"I don't want you to go," she whined. Jagged smiled fondly at the two, and she sighed. "I mean, I _want _you to go, but I don't want to miss you."

"Four months, baby girl," Jagged said, lightly punching her shoulder. "I'll bring him home safe and sound, and hey – by the next leg of the tour your internship will be done, right? Maybe you can come with us."

"That's not helping me now," Marinette grumbled. She stepped back as the boarding call rang out again. Luka kissed her before she could get too far.

"Four months," he said, resting his forehead against her own. "That's nothing."

Marinette wished she could believe him as she waved them off. It certainly didn't feel like nothing from where she was standing.

– V –

Walking into the central offices of _Bourgeois_ – formerly _Gabriel_ – on Monday morning was an odd experience. The corporate takeover had been relatively quick, if not painless: Gabriel Agreste hadn't even been dead a full month before Audrey Bourgeois had swooped in and bought out the company. Adrien, who had wanted nothing to do with the fashion empire after learning the truth about his father, had willingly signed it over without a second thought. The renovation crew was still switching out the massive sign in the main lobby when Marinette entered the building.

The past few months had been surreal, to say the least. As the end of her lycée career drew closer, Gabriel Agreste had been outed as Hawkmoth, had been arrested, and had been shot and killed during transport to prison – by Nathalie Sancoeur, who was currently awaiting trial for conspiracy, murder, and domestic terrorism. Adrien Agreste unmasked himself, if only privately to her, as Chat Noir and had almost completely removed himself from the public eye. While technically an adult who no longer required a legal guardian, he had been taken in by the Bourgeois family and was staying at Le Grand Paris while he tried to get his feet under him. He was taking a breath, he had told her the night he'd debated giving the Cat Miraculous back to her for safe keeping. (She had refused, of course: Paris would still need its heroes, and she'd be waiting for him, when he was ready. Hawkmoth's last threat to them was that he had had an apprentice, after all, and while they had regained the Peacock Miraculous the Butterfly Miraculous was still missing.) Amidst purchasing and rebranding the Gabriel label before it could lose all market value, Audrey Bourgeois had also offered Marinette an internship. Audrey had been a fan of hers for a while, and as she would be residing in Paris at least temporarily while she oversaw the company's transition she wanted her working by her side.

"I have much to teach you, Dupain-Cheng," the mogul had said over espresso in the hotel's restaurant. It had only slightly bothered Marinette that her new boss sounded like her old bully when she said her name like that. "I usually don't come back to someone once they've rejected my offers, but I sense you'll be worth the investment. Don't prove me wrong."

She had expected to be nothing more than a glorified gofer, much like when she had first met Jagged Stone at the hotel all those years ago. Instead, she was shadowing Audrey Bourgeois herself: sitting in on meetings, jotting notes from Skype calls, spending half the day in the back of a car as they drove from fabric warehouse to design studio to café for a myriad of meetings. It was enough to make Marinette's head spin, and Luka had been right: she really didn't have time to miss him, or notice that he was gone.

At least that first week.

Still, when she arrived home after her first day (which had carried on three hours later than it was supposed to, thanks to a chatty client who hadn't let them leave lunch on time), crashed onto her chaise, and glanced at her phone to see the message from Luka, she had to smile.

_Rome is crazy. Gelato can't beat Andre's, though._

– V –

In twenty-one years, Luka had never left Paris – or, at least, France. The farthest he'd traveled had been three hours outside the city to visit a sick aunt when he was a kid. He hadn't really minded: sure, he'd always dreamed of touring the world, but he loved Paris. It was his home, and while the idea of traveling was great, home was home.

During that first week on tour, he went to Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, and London. They'd be in the UK for a while, as Jagged also had some old friends he'd be catching up with while in town (he'd also said something about one of them having a warehouse studio he wanted to record in) . It was all kind of surreal, if he was honest. Luka was used to living on maybe a seven: a nice, relaxed easygoing pace, where you could keep your head about you and still make sense of the world. Jagged seemed to go at one hundred fifteen or more ninety percent of the time. It was all a bit overwhelming, if Luka was honest.

"How do you do it?" Luka asked him one night while they were flying over the Balearic Sea. Jagged chuckled as he leaned back in his chair and reached down, scratching Fang behind the ears.

"It's the rush, y'know?" he finally said. He shrugged. "It's the dream. We work and we sweat and we bleed, and it's all for this chance: hitting the stage every night to pour your heart out for a crowded stadium."

"I was always happy if just one person was listening," Luka said softly. He was looking down at his phone, at a lock screen that showed Marinette smiling up at him. It was one of his favorite pictures of her, from two springs ago when she was in the middle of a final project, a commission for Jagged, and orders for dance dresses from her classmates. She'd been a frazzled mess every time he saw her, but he'd never thought she'd looked more beautiful: the messy bun, the sweatpants, the sleep circles under her eyes. She was chasing her dream, and he'd never been more proud. (…she hated the photo, claiming she looked like a sleep-deprived train wreck, and every now and then tried to change it to something more flattering. He always switched it back, though.)

"It helps when that one person still listens," Jagged admitted, glancing over at where Penny was passed out with her phone still pressed between her ear and shoulder. She was snoring slightly. He moved to cover her with a blanket, kissing the top of her head before returning to his seat. "You do it because you love the music, Luka. They do it because they love you."

"It gets easier?" Luka asked, looking up from his phone. Jagged laughed.

"Nah, mate," he said, shaking his head, "but it gets better."

– V –

"You're falling asleep," Luka chuckled into the phone. Marinette grumbled noncommittally, her head falling back against her cat pillow. The phone slipped slightly, but it was enough to startle her.

"I'm awake!" she cried, accidentally flinging her pen halfway across the room in her flailing. She groaned and flopped her head back again. "This suuuuucks! It's the first time in two weeks we've been able to talk, and I can't even stay awake for it!"

"Bourgeois is a real slave driver, huh?" he asked.

"I just want to sit and sew," she whined. "I never realized so much of the _business_ was schmoozing over expensive lunches."

"Politics, huh?" he laughed.

"Shut up," she grumbled. She tossed her sketchbook to the foot of her bed, done for the night. She rolled over, her phone pressed between her ear and pillow, and cuddled the end of her cat. "I miss you. A pillow doesn't hug like you."

He grew silent at that, and she sighed.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I know that wasn't fair."

"You needed to say it," he said. "I needed to hear it. Fang's cuddly, but you're right. It's not the same."

She snorted, choking on a laugh. Tears pricked her eyes, and she gasped, "Oh my God. Did you just compare me to a crocodile?"

"The tour bus gets lonely," he teased.

"Shut up," she laughed. "Ugh. I need to sleep. I'm sorry."

"Get some rest," he said. "Dream of me?"

"Already do," she said. "Give Fang a hug for me?"

"Already am," he quipped, and she was laughing again as the call disconnected.

– V –

Two months passed quicker than either had thought they would. The cities passed by in a blur of blinding lights and screaming fans. Yeah, they were Jagged's fans, but Luka had a good half hour set opening up the show before he jumped in with the band for the main event, and the reception had been good. The crowds were intrigued, and he always got good feedback at the meet and greets after. He was making a lot of industry connections as well, and his creativity had been off the charts. He'd already had to pick up a second songwriting notebook, and while they were in New York next month Jagged had arranged for him to record a second EP.

"In an actual studio this time," Jagged had eagerly told him. "The garage band sound is classic, but you'll have a much better audio quality this time around."

He'd spent a good hour going on about the purity and authenticity of the music after that, and Luka had soaked it all in.

The calls with Marinette were becoming less frequent, and their main communication had dwindled to texts that usually saw hours between replies. That was the hardest part of the road, Luka was learning. Being away from Marinette, his family, his home…touring was great, but he missed them.

They were in Boston the night an exceptionally drunk brunette tossed her underwear on stage at Jagged. Luka had always thought that was just a rock-n-roll cliché, a tour joke, but the way Jagged dodged the flying knickers made Luka – who was inexperienced enough to not know how to dodge and ended up wearing them like a hat – second guess that. Jagged had frozen mid-song as they stared at each other, and then he had howled into his microphone.

"Ok, ok, guys, really, I love you, too!" he shouted at the crowd when he had finally stopped laughing. "But come on! Give the kid a break – he's taken!"

"You both are!" Penny hollered from backstage, and Jagged blew her a kiss before snatching the underwear off Luka's head and tossing them back at the crowd.

– V –

"Stop wiggling your toes – I'm going to mess this up, and you do _not_ want to see my mother's face if you show up with a botched pedi," Chloé ordered. Marinette rolled her eyes as she flipped through the rock magazine she'd picked up that afternoon. She didn't always purchase that particular publication, but they had an article on Jagged Stone and – more importantly – his hot new opening act, and she'd been swayed.

"I can't help it – it _tickles_," she said. She wiggled her toes again for emphasis, and Chloé shot her a look. "Besides, it's not like I wear open…toe…_oh_…"

"What?" Chloé asked, looking up from her feet. She scooted over and peeked at the page Marinette had been reading, and her eyes widened at the large photo of Jagged Stone doubled over in laughter as he pointed at a red-faced Luka Couffaine, who was wearing a pair of underwear on his head and looking quite dazed about it. "Isn't that your boyfriend?"

"…yep," Marinette said, glancing at the date of the picture. It was from a week and a half ago. Luka hadn't mentioned the incident, though admittedly they hadn't really talked much since he'd landed in the United States.

"…are you ok?" Chloé asked, frowning at Marinette. She closed the magazine and put in on the table beside the sofa, suddenly not very interested in the article after all.

"…yep."

– V –

Luka had been on the road for three months, two weeks, and four days when Adrien Agreste came back into Marinette's life – or, at least, when he became aware of the fact.

Because when he facetimed her and found her sitting in the Grand Paris hotel sandwiched between Adrien and Chloé it certainly looked like he hadn't _just_ reappeared. And while it was good to see Adrien smiling and laughing again, he couldn't deny there was…it wasn't jealousy, not in the _hey my girl used to like you and you're looking awfully chummy_ sense, but more in a _hey you're laughing next to the girl I want to be laughing next to and I kind of miss that_ way. It was an odd feeling, because he supposed in the strictest sense he was jealous, and he didn't like that.

"Babe!" Marinette gasped as she answered the call. She batted at Adrien, whose fingers were dancing along her side, and Luka felt that twinge again. He forced a smile on and waved.

"Hey," he said. "Hey, Adrien. Good to see you again."

"Hey, Luka!" Adrien said, leaning against Marinette and returning the wave. "Can you tell your girlfriend to stop hogging the pot stickers?"

"I am not – _you_ were the one who wasn't sharing!" Marinette said, sticking her tongue out at Adrien. The blond poked her side again, and Marinette batted him away as she giggled. Luka tried to keep his smile on, but it was hard. She looked back at her screen as Chloé told them to stop being disgusting ("I'm _trying_ to actually _watch_ this movie!"). Her shoulder left the other side of the screen as she went to call the restaurant to order more food. "You're growing a beard."

"Huh?" Luka asked, thrown by the random comment. She smiled at him, and he brought a hand up to rub at his chin. It was more stubble than beard, but he hadn't shaved in a while. "I guess I am? Maybe. Trying a look."

"I like it," Marinette said. "Your hair's getting long, too."

"That's a weird way of saying you miss me," he said, trying to maintain a teasing tone. She smiled and slumped back against the couch. If the motion found her resting more solidly against Adrien's shoulder, Luka tried to ignore it.

"I miss you," she finally said. The smile was easier that time.

"I miss you, too," he said. "We're going to be in New York a couple nights next week. Almost home after that."

"Audrey's offered me a job as a junior designer," she said, biting her lip. The smile was definitely genuine that time.

"Mari, that's great!" he cried. "That's amazing! Are you gonna take it?"

"It seems dumb not to," she said. "It's a great opportunity, and I've been learning so much…but…"

"It's your dream, Mari," he said. She didn't look happy about that.

"You're my dream, too," she said. There was a knock on his door, and Penny called for him. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. She was right: it was getting longer. He'd had to tie it back the past few shoes. "Go on. We'll talk about it when you get home."

"I love you," he said, and she blew him a kiss.

"I love you, too."

– V –

"Wait, you're really quitting modelling? For good?" Marinette asked Adrien, her eyes wide over the stack of boxes she was carrying. He shrugged before taking them from her.

"It was always my father's thing, not mine," he said. "I don't really know what I want to do now, but being told what to wear, how to walk, when to smile, what to eat, where I can go for the rest of my life…it doesn't sound appealing."

"Audrey's said she'll take you on in a heartbeat," she said. "She's always had a soft spot for you."

"And I'm still the most lucrative face in Paris," he said with a roll of his eyes as he gestured to an ad starring him.

"You're not wrong," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. He nudged her shoulder as she grabbed a stack of papers and her bag before closing the trunk of the car. "They've been going nuts since you've been AWOL. Still…it's weird. I just can't picture you doing anything else."

"I was thinking of a career in standup," he joked, and she blinked at him before she started cackling.

"No," she said firmly. "No, no, no. You're funny, Agreste, but you're not _that_ funny."

"I've always made you smile, m'Lady," he said with a wink. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles, and she rolled her eyes fondly before they turned to head into the Bourgeois offices.

Neither saw the flash of a camera behind them.

– V –

Jagged frowned as he saw Luka read the tabloid's cover: _Has Paris's Most Eligible Bachelor Finally Found THE ONE?_ He saw the way his fists clenched in his pockets, the way he looked away from Adrien and Marinette's smiling faces. The way he ignored Adrien holding – kissing – Marinette's hand. Felt the way his young apprentice tensed under the hand he laid on his shoulder.

"Hey, mate," he said, his voice low and lacking the usual bluster he showered the world with twenty four-seven. "It's just a magazine. Paparazzi. You know it's all horse shit."

"Yeah," Luka said, sighing, though he didn't look convinced. "Horse shit."

The tannoy clanged to life above them, calling for their flight, and Luka trudged ahead to catch up with Penny. Jagged looked down at Fang with a sad smile.

"Fang, old bud, I think we've got some work to do."

– V –

Audrey Bourgeois's eyes widened in delight at the face that popped up on her screen.

"Jagged Stone! Darling, how have you been?" she cooed, leaning forward. She waved Marinette in, already reaching for the files in her arms.

"Audrey, baby, I'm in a pinch – was hoping you could help a guy out?" Jagged said. His eyes lit up when Marinette came into the shot. "Marinette! Awesome – just the girl I needed to see!"

"My intern? Whatever is this about, Jagged?" Audrey asked, lowering her sunglasses suspiciously.

"I'm playing the Garden next week, and I'm thinking of shaking it up a bit. Need a new look, and Marinette's always gotten my style spot-on," Jagged said. Marinette smiled at the unintended pun. He tossed her a wink. "Plus, my girl's great in a pinch. Think you could fly out here for a quick fitting?"

"Jagged, darling, it sounds more like you want _Marinette_ than you want _me_. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous," Audrey tutted, and Jagged laughed as he shrugged helplessly.

"Guilty," he said. "Means to an end, love. And I've got someone else here who could really benefit from some one-on-one time with my girl."

Audrey rolled her eyes and turned towards Marinette.

"I have been grossly neglecting my New York offices since the merger," she said. "What do you say, Marinette? Care to see New York?"

– V –

Luka was exhausted by the time they arrived at the hotel in New York. They had three shows in the city, back to back, starting the next night, plus Jagged was wrapping up the week with an appearance on Jimmy Fallon on Friday night and as the musical guest on SNL Saturday. By Sunday they were supposed to be on a plane back to Paris.

Sunday was not going to come soon enough.

He had just dropped his bag by the bed, ready to fall face-first onto the mattress, when Jagged hollered from the room next door.

"Oi, Luka! Get your ass in here, mate!"

"He's an amazing musician, this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and your girlfriend adores him," Luka reminded himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He could hear an excited _thwump-thwump-thwump_ coming through the walls – Fang's tail pounding against the floor. He sighed and turned around, rubbing his eyes as he left his room and entered Jagged's.

"Yeah?" he asked, eyes still closed.

"Check it out – got it sent in special just for the show tomorrow! Totally rock-n-roll, right?" Jagged asked, practically giggling in his excitement. Luka mentally groaned and rubbed at his eyes again. Was he shitting him? He was so tired – _so tired_ – and Jagged wanted to show off a new…

"…Marinette?" he gaped as he opened his eyes. Marinette waved excitedly, a shit-eating grin on her face that was only rivaled by the one Jagged was shooting Penny. Jagged, who was standing behind Marinette with his hands on her shoulders, gently pushed her forwards.

"Go get him, girl," he said, and the next thing Luka knew Marinette was throwing herself at him. He laughed as he stumbled back, his arms wrapping securely around her as she pressed against him.

"Hey," she said, peeking up at him. He shook his head in amazement, a hand coming up to cup the side of her face.

"Hey," he whispered, bending down for a long-overdue kiss. When they pulled apart, she let out an excited squeal and buried her head against his chest. He chuckled and rested his hand against the back of her head, holding her close. He looked up at Jagged and smiled, mouthing _thank you_. Jagged nodded and grinned, then clapped his hands together and pointed towards the door.

"Right, you two – go catch up. I am _knackered_, and I'd like to get some sleep! Mari, love, I'll see you in the morning," he said, ushering them towards the door. He gave Marinette one last hug before slamming the door in their faces. Luka turned to her, once again bringing his hands up to hold her face.

"You're here," he breathed, pressing his forehead to hers.

"I'm here," she said. "For the rest of the week. I'll still have some work to do at the Bourgeois offices, but Audrey's main orders were 'keep Jagged Stone happy'. Apparently he's a big client."

"Funny how that works out," Luka said with a chuckle. Marinette hummed, leaning against him.

"So for the most part, I'm with you and Jagged," she said. "We all fly out together Sunday."

"That's –" he started, but they both jumped at the sudden pounding on the door behind them.

"OI! GET A ROOM!" Jagged hollered through the door, and Marinette collapsed against him in a fit of laughter. He rolled his eyes and nodded towards his door.

"Well, if he insists," he said. "Shall we?"


	25. Aug 31: THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED!

**31 August 2019**

_**Prompt: **__There Was Only One Bed (Setting)_

_**Fandom:**__ Miraculous Ladybug_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Kitty Section_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ I'm almost sad this is the last prompt of the month, because after this one I need one where Juleka and Jagged team up for Matchmaking Shenanigans. It might just have to happen anyway. Also, in a real-world situation, even if Ivan was coming up a day later, all their asses would be crammed in one van with all their gear (somebody would be on a lap, someone else on the floor/in the trunk), and they'd all be in one room with two beds and MAYBE an air mattress. But this is fiction, the prompt was ONE BED, and, like Ms. Darbus, I live for DRAMA!_

Luka stared at the hotel room in disbelief. Maybe a little anger. Definitely a lot of annoyance.

…the tiniest smidge of excitement, which he was steadfastly trying to squash down because he was a _gentleman_ damn it and was _not_ going to be looking forward to the coming nights _at all_.

"…I'm going to kill her," he groaned, slapping a hand against his face and sufficiently blocking the view of the single, solitary bed occupying most of the hotel room. He felt Marinette tense beside him, and that sliver of excitement was replaced by a butt-load of guilt. "I am absolutely going to kill her."

"HAVE FUN, YOU TWO!" Rose squealed as Juleka shoved her into the room next door. Luka turned his head to lock eyes with his sister, who just smirked at him and offered a two-fingered salute before slamming the door behind her. He pushed out an exasperated sigh and looked back to the room.

There was still only one bed. He didn't know why he had expected that to change in the second he'd turned away, like a second bed had been playfully hiding behind a closet door or something and was waiting to jump out the moment he'd turned his back.

_Surprise!_ it would cry, wagging its end like a dog would its tail. _I was in the corner all along! Tee-hee!_

…he needed to sleep. That was definitely a mental image straight out of one of Sandboy's nightmares, and he needed a good eight hours to forget it. Too bad it was almost one o'clock in the morning and they all needed to be up by seven thirty.

Marinette moved beside him, cutting off any further internal monologuing. He gulped and looked at her. She looked worse than he felt.

"Marinette?" he asked, and she sighed as she trudged into the room, tossed her bag onto the chair by the window, and collapsed on the bed. He hesitated, still frozen in the doorway. He shifted slightly, adjusting his guitar strap over his shoulder and redistributing the weight of his duffle. "…Marinette?"

"Luka, we've been trapped in a cramped van for seven and a half hours," she groaned. Her voice was muffled by the mattress, so she turned her head to glare blearily at him. He shifted again, and she sighed. "The air was broken, it was boiling outside, and traffic _sucked_. Most of the trip I spent on your lap because Ivan's drums took up the extra seat. I love you, I trust you, and I'm too tired to care about the fact that Juleka forgot to ask for a double, so please." She patted the bed beside her expectantly, but her eyes were already closing and her voice was drifting off. "Just…get…here."

If he hadn't been frozen before, he definitely was now.

"_I love you, I trust you…"_

"_I love you…"_

…she loved him? Loved him? _Loved?_

…he definitely loved her. He had known that for years, since he was seventeen. Since she'd first stumbled into his room stuttering about _mamas_ and _grooves_. And he had suspected, over the two years he'd known her, that she liked him as well – even if only as a friend. Because when they had met, she had been in love with Adrien Agreste, and even if she didn't love Adrien anymore…

He rubbed his eyes again and sighed. He was too tired to process any of this. He finally entered the room, kicking the door shut behind him, and dumped his duffel by Marinette's in the chair. He was a bit more careful with laying his guitar against the windowsill, and within moments he was sitting on the other side of the bed kicking his boots off. He paused as he glanced behind him, taking a moment to watch Marinette's sleeping face.

She loved him, huh?

He laid back on the bed and propped his arms behind his head. His eyes widened in surprise when, the next thing he knew, Marinette had rolled over and curled against his side. He glanced down to find her sleeping face smiling up at him, and his heart clenched in his chest. He sighed and reached down, wrapping an arm around her and holding her close.

"I love you, too, Ma-Ma-Marinette," he whispered softly before drifting off to sleep.

– V –

Neither of them were morning people. Marinette had gotten a bit better over the years, as long as she remembered to set her alarm (or had a handy kwami ready to wake her), but she was still usually the one stumbling through the door right as homeroom was getting ready to start. Luka had always been a night owl, and he was the type who had to set five alarms because he slept through the first three. So when they had stumbled into their hotel room at a quarter to one in the morning, bone tired and (at least in his case) slightly preoccupied by the fact that they had to share a bed, neither had remembered to set an alarm, let alone plug their phones in to charge.

That was the furthest thought from Luka's mind at the moment. He was more concerned with how comfortable the bed was, and how soft the pillow he was hugging was. He smiled lazily and burrowed his face deeper into the pillow, breathing in an achingly familiar scent, and he almost – _almost_ – missed the giggling. He frowned and pressed his face harder against the pillow, which shifted beneath him.

…dimly, he was aware – sort of – of the fact that pillows shouldn't be able to move on their own.

"Shhhh," he heard Juleka hush, followed by another giggle from Rose. He'd know that giggle anywhere.

"But they're so _cute!"_ Rose squealed, and Juleka shushed her again.

"Can you guys just let me sleep?" Luka groaned. His pillow moved again, and he sighed as his head slipped lower. Rose squealed again, but the sound was muffled – and followed quickly by the exaggerated _click_ of a camera app. He cracked an eye open and found Juleka smirking as she held up her phone. Rose was bouncing by her side, both fists shoved into her mouth to muffle her squealing.

"You both were supposed to be up half an hour ago," Juleka said, "though I can see you were…preoccupied."

…both?

He frowned and tried to sit up, and he realized his pillow was trapping him. His pillow. Pillow. Pill…

His eyes widened as he looked down and saw Marinette sleeping on one of his arms. He felt his face warming as she rolled towards him, and he raised panicked eyes to his sister. Juleka chuckled as she turned her phone, and he was greeted with an image of himself wrapped around Marinette, his face nestled against her chest. He swallowed thickly, feeling his entire head burning, and Rose squealed again.

"He's _blushing!"_ she cried, and Luka tossed a pillow – an actual pillow – at her. She giggled as she caught it.

"We're going to have a _long_ talk about this later, sis," he bit out, and Juleka reached over to ruffle his already-mussed hair.

"You'll find some way to thank me," she said. "Now get up. Ivan and Mylène should be here soon, and we've gotta get over to the venue."

She grabbed Rose's hand and tugged her out of the room ("We're getting breakfast – we'll grab you two something!"), and Luka groaned and looked back at Marinette. He flopped back onto the bed beside her, and she cuddled into his side again.

"You're killing me, beautiful," he whispered, brushing her bangs out of her face. She smiled at the touch, and despite his annoyance at his sister he found himself returning the smile.

He needed a shower. And coffee. Figuring he'd let her sleep just a bit longer, he carefully extracted his arm from beneath her and went to grab his duffle. He cast one last look at her in the doorway to the bathroom, his heart fluttering as he saw her sleeping there.

"_I love you…"_

He sighed, closed the door behind him, and turned the shower to an icy blast.

– V –

Marinette was alone when she woke up. Which wasn't unusual – she was supposed to be alone when she woke up – but she distinctly remembered _not_ being alone when she fell asleep. And she definitely hadn't been alone when she had woken up at four in the morning tangled up with Luka. She frowned as she blinked groggily at the space where Luka should be. There was just wrinkled linens and a missing pillow.

As her mind sluggishly turned over, she became aware of the sound of running water, and she sighed as she fell back into the bed. He was showering. Ok.

…he was showering.

Marinette's eyes snapped open and stared blindly at the clock on the bedside table across from her (a part of her mind, distant and unintelligible, recognized that it was almost eight thirty and she should have been up an hour ago). Somehow, when Juleka had first said she'd be sharing a room with Luka, the more minute details of _sharing a room with Luka_ had completely escaped her. She certainly hadn't thought they'd be sharing a bed (though she wasn't _entirely _complaining about that development), and she definitely hadn't considered things like _showers_. But Rose and Juleka had wanted to share a room, and Ivan and Mylène were going to arrive later than everyone else because of a commitment Mylène had (and they'd be sharing a room, too), so at the time, when Juleka had initially explained it, Marinette sharing a room with Luka had seemed like the obvious choice. And besides, it was _Luka_ – he was one of her best friends. And ok, maybe she had been a little bit in love with him for longer than she'd actually care to admit, but…it wasn't supposed to be weird. Nothing between them had ever been weird, even when she had been her usual weird self. And –

Her mental tirade cut off as the bathroom door opened. Luka walked out in a pair of ripped jeans, his head hidden by the towel he was rubbing against his hair. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless, or barefoot, or wet, but Marinette felt her heart stutter to a halt in her chest. She gulped and squeezed her eyes shut, burrowing into the pillow as she tried to pretend she was still asleep.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

She tensed as she felt the bed sink behind her, and Luka's hand felt like fire against her arm (which was ridiculous, because his skin was usually freezing – something she attributed to living on the river). He gave her a gentle shake, and she sucked in a breath.

"Hey, Mari," he called softly. "Time to wake up, sleepy head."

She tried to play off the _I'm still asleep_ act and groaned, rolling slightly to better face him. She cracked open an eye, and her breath caught in her throat. Because really, it just wasn't fair that he was _that_ gorgeous _that_ early in the morning. His hair was sticking up at odd angles from the towel-drying, and he was still missing his shirt. Her eyes ran down his shoulder and upper arm, tracing the beginnings of the sleeve tattoo he had started a few months ago with her eyes. He had told her it wasn't finished yet, that he had planned to continue the design down his entire arm, but the first part was a musical staff winding around his bicep. It was still only half-filled in with notes, but she couldn't read music, and he had never told her what song he had placed there. He smiled and reached out to brush her bangs away from her face, pulling her attention away from the tattoo, and she closed her eyes at the touch.

"We slept in, didn't we?" she asked. He chuckled and nodded.

"Ivan and Mylène aren't here yet, and Jules and Rosie went down to grab some breakfast before they stop serving. They said they'd grab us something," he said. She took a deep breath, and she hummed as she leaned into his touch.

"You smell good," she said without thinking. She felt his hand tense against her face, and her eyes snapped open as she realized what she had said. "I-I mean…uh…"

"…I tried to save you some hot water," he mumbled, averting his gaze. She bit her lip as she realized he was blushing. "You should probably hop in there before they get back. Get the road funk off."

"…are you saying _I_ smell _bad?"_ she asked. She tried to sound like she was teasing him, desperately trying to save face for her earlier slip. He looked back at her, a grin curling his lips.

"I'm saying we were stuck in a van three hours longer than we were supposed to be in a heat wave with a busted AC," he said. He leaned down and winked at her. "I _know_ you smell bad."

"You didn't seem to mind last night," she huffed as she flopped onto her back. They both froze again, and she gulped as she glanced back at him. His face was almost as red as her Ladybug suit. Shit. "I'm…uh…I'm gonna go get that shower. You should…clothes!"

She had vaulted from the bed, crossed the room to the bathroom, and slammed the door behind her before he had realized what was happening. She leaned against the door, placing a hand over her racing heart as she tried to figure out just what the hell was wrong with her. Yes, it was Luka, and yes, she was in love with him, but…what had gotten into her? He teased her all the time, sure, and she teased back, but…that wasn't teasing. That was _flirting_. And yes, she knew he used to like her, but…after his love confession as Silencer two years ago, he had never said anything else. Never acted on it. Sure, she had still be in the middle of her Adrien insanity, but…if Luka still cared for her _like that_, he would have said something well before now.

…right?

She shrieked when he knocked on the door, scaring her from her panic. She took a deep breath and opened the door, peeking around the edge.

"Y-yes?" she asked. He held up her bag, smiling slightly.

"You might need this," he said, and she thwumped her head against the door jam. She opened the door to take the handle, but he caught her hand with his own before she could get her bag. When she looked up at him, she realized he looked…nervous. Shy. Which was crazy, because Luka was one of the most composed guys she knew – he was quiet, sure, if you didn't really know him, but he wasn't _shy_. "Hey, Mari…what you said last night…did you mean it?"

"What I…what did I say?" she asked. There was a swarm of butterflies clamoring for attention in her stomach. They had had this conversation before, two years ago, when… "Oh, God, it wasn't anything embarrassing, was it? Alya says I talk in my sleep sometimes, and…Luka?"

He was searching her face for something, biting his lip slightly. His grip tightened on her hand, and she swallowed.

"What did I say?" she asked. He shook his head and gave her a little, bittersweet smile, squeezing her hand before letting go.

"…nothing," he said. "We were both really tired. It doesn't matter."

Except something told her that it did. She closed the door and started the water. She had just stepped under the spray when she heard him start playing in the main room, a familiar song he'd been working on off and on for the past two years.

"Marinette?" she heard Tikki ask from the other side of the shower curtain, and she sighed as she rubbed her palms against her eyes.

"Tikki," she groaned, "I don't know if this weekend was the best idea…"

– V –

The rest of the day was a whirl of activity. Kitty Section had landed a gig as part of a popular music festival in Bordeaux, and while they weren't set to actually perform until the next afternoon they still had a sound check once Ivan arrived. After the sound check they had spent most of the day checking out the other acts and exploring the city. They'd broken up into groups for part of the afternoon with plans to meet up for dinner before heading back to the hotel, and somehow Marinette had once again found herself alone with Luka.

The morning's awkwardness had mostly been forgotten, and they had fallen back into their easy camaraderie as they walked along the river. Luka was in the middle of a story Marinette was only half-listening to, and at some point – without really thinking about it – she had reached out to hold his hand. It was an old routine for them, and in a way it felt like they had never left home. Just another evening spent walking alone the Seine (the Garonne here), enjoying each other's company as they talked about anything and everything. She rested her head against his bare arm, and if he stumbled over whatever he had been saying when she did so she didn't notice. She was distracted again by the swirling lines of his tattoo.

"Hey, Luka?" she asked when he grew silent. He hummed, and she reached up to trace a finger along one of the notes on the staff. "Are you ever gonna tell me what song this is?"

He was silent for a long moment as they walked, his thumb rubbing absently against the back of her hand. They rounded a corner, and she saw the others waiting by a café under a streetlight. Rose spotted them first and started jumping up and down, waving to get their attention.

"…maybe," he finally said, squeezing her hand. "I'm just waiting for the right moment."

She laughed, shaking her head.

"And when's that gonna be?" she asked. He smiled and squeezed her hand again.

"When it's finished," he said. She rolled her eyes and was about to say something else, but they had already reached the others. Rose pulled her aside to show her something she had found at a street fair, and Luka was already caught up in a conversation with Ivan and Juleka about their set tomorrow.

"You ever gonna tell her it's her song, dumbass?" Juleka asked him quietly once Rose had tugged Marinette into the café. Ivan glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, and Luka rolled his eyes before shoving his hands in his pockets and following after them.

"When it's finished," he said again. Juleka rolled her own eyes before heading inside.

– V –

The reality of the single bed was a bit more daunting when neither of them were bone-tired. They were still tired when they entered the room – it had still been a long day, and neither had had as much sleep as they would have liked the night before – but they weren't at the point of passing out from exhaustion. Marinette, for one, had her own little freak-out the moment the door opened and she remembered the fact that _she was sharing a bed with Luka Couffaine_. Luka was already laying his guitar by the window when he turned and saw she was still in the doorway, staring at the bed.

"Mari?" he asked, but she couldn't pull her gaze away from the bed. "You ok?"

When she still didn't answer, he walked over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. He gave it a reassuring squeeze, and she jumped at the touch. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he smiled sympathetically at her.

"You didn't seem to care last night," he said. He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "How did you put it? 'I love you, I trust you, just get in here'?"

"…I said _what?"_ she gasped, her eyes growing impossibly large. He started to laugh, but upon realizing how horrified she looked he frowned. He reached up to hold her other shoulder, centering her. "Oh my God. Luka, no. Tell me I did not say that!"

"…ok," he said, and she couldn't understand why he sounded sad about it. "You didn't say that."

"…you're lying," she said miserably, and he shrugged helplessly. She groaned and buried her face in her hands, but then a thought hit her. "…wait. This morning. You asked me if…"

"We've got a big day tomorrow, Mari," he said. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. If he lingered a moment longer than a friend should, neither mentioned it. "We survived last night, and we'll survive tonight and tomorrow night, too. What do you say we just get some sleep?"

She nodded mutely and followed him into the room, the whole time trying to clamp down on her internal meltdown.

_I told him I love him? Holy crap, did I actually tell him I love him?!_

– V –

Three hours had passed and Marinette was no closer to falling asleep.

Luka had fallen asleep almost immediately, which…wasn't fair. Because he had come out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of plaid sleep pants, and he had collapsed on the bed with a moan that had sounded way too intense for the simple act of _falling on a mattress_, and had spent an obnoxious amount of time squirming to get comfortable – which, really, she was ninety percent sure was just a show to make _her_ more comfortable, but it failed horribly when all it really did was draw her attention to the sleek muscles covering his arms and chest. She sat beside him, cross-legged with her sketchbook in her lap, in a tank top and sleep shorts, feeling light-headed as she watched him stretch out like…well, there was a reason she had trusted him with the _Snake_ Miraculous, she guessed. He had smiled up at her lazily, wished her good night, and had closed his eyes. He laid there, his arms propped behind his head, and within fifteen minutes she had heard gentle snores coming from him.

In retrospect, she was going to _kill_ Juleka for this.

She had put her sketchbook on the bedside table, set her alarm, turned off the light, and had laid down beside him. She had leapt nearly a foot in the air when he rolled onto his side and curled against her side, and for a moment she had forgotten how to breathe. She had woken up at four the previous morning in a similar position, and she remembered she hadn't been bothered by it. She had _liked_ being cuddled up with Luka. So why did she feel like her heart was about to explode now, like every nerve ending was alive and shooting an electric current along her skin wherever they touched?

His head moved, resting over her heart, and he started humming in his sleep. She watched him, mesmerized, as he hummed that same song, the one he'd been working on since they'd met. She finally started to relax, though she was no closer to sleep as she laid there holding him. But it was…nice. Something she thought she could definitely get used to. Her hand came up to lazily trace along the staff on his arm, and he shifted to hold her closer.

Three and a half hours after Luka had flopped on the bed beside her, and maybe an hour and a half after he had cuddled against her, she finally started to drift off.

– V –

Luka didn't normally get nervous before a gig, but his leg couldn't stop bouncing as he sat on a speaker case backstage. He spun the yellow bracelet he usually wore around and around, his fingers randomly stretching to work out the kinks. Ivan looked over at him, eyebrows raised, and he rolled his eyes before grabbing his guitar and playing through a few chords.

He wasn't nervous. He wasn't. Sure, it was one of the larger venues they'd played, but a gig was a gig.

"Hey, little dude, you ok?"

He looked up at the drawling voice. The lead singer from the band slotted to go on before them was standing in front of him, hands shoved deep in his pockets and a pierced eyebrow raised high onto his creased forehead. Luka remembered seeing him yesterday and thinking he was high as a kite, but the band – a foreign getup from the Midwestern United States – had been decent.

"Yeah, sorry," he said, halting his fingers on the guitar.

"Nah, it was good," the man said, sitting on the case next to him. "Didn't hear it during your check yesterday. Gonna play it today?"

"It's not done yet," Luka mumbled, looking down. His fingers picked uncertainly at the strings. "Almost, but…"

The man hummed and slouched back, tapping his ringed fingers against the case. He bobbed his head along with the music, smiling as his eyes closed.

"She's special," he finally said, looking at Luka. "Pigtails, right? That sounds like pigtails."

Luka's eyes widened, and the man chuckled dryly. It cut off in a coughing fit, but he was smiling when it subsided.

"I dig it," he said. "You guys sounded good yesterday. Don't get nervous – stifles the creativity. Just get out there and play." He smiled at him, tilting his head to where Marinette was helping Rose and Juleka into their costumes. "She'll dig it, too. If you let her."

"I…" Luka started, but one of the man's bandmates – another man with long, wavy brown hair streaked with the occasional grey – was waving him over.

"Oi, Trent!" he called. "We're on!"

"Rock on, little dude," the man said, raising his fist to bump with Luka's. Luka watched, dazed, as he joined his bandmates and headed onstage.

"Who was that?" Marinette asked as she walked over, his costume in her arms.

"Something-_Spiral?"_ he said, shaking his head. "Though I think they said they might be changing the name. They're up now."

"Which means you're up in forty-five," she said, holding his costume up. "Ready?"

"Yeah, I…" he shook his head, chuckling. His leg stopped bouncing for the first time since he'd sat down. He looked up at her with a smile, and her cheeks tinted pink under his scrutiny.

"What?" she asked, shuffling between feet. He stood, his guitar sliding to his back, and took the costume from her. He wasn't nervous. He'd never been nervous before a gig. The stage was a second home to him, playing music like breathing.

But being around Marinette? Actually telling her he was still crazy about her, that his feelings had never changed after all this time? Or, if they had, had only gotten stronger? Waking up next to her two mornings in a row and not waking her up with a hundred little kisses? Not telling her she'd been the song in his head for two years, and that he hoped she'd be the song in his head for many years to come? That he wouldn't mind waking up to her every morning?

Well. That was terrifying.

"Kiss for luck?" he asked, tipping her chin up with his thumb. Her cheeks darkened, but she quickly stood on her tip toes and placed a soft kiss against his cheek. He smiled, surprised she had actually done it.

"You don't need it," she said. She was about to say something else when she saw Ivan putting his costume on, and she laughed as she stepped away from him. "Ivan, Ivan, wait – you've got it on backwards!"

He smiled as she went to help their friend, and his eyes dropped to the staff on his arm. If he was honest, it wasn't that the song wasn't finished. He'd had her song memorized years ago. He was just hoping that he could still be a part of it, if she'd let him.

"_I love you, I trust you…"_

"Hey, Jules," he called, slipping the spiked armor over the blue tee shirt with a kitticorn on it. She looked up from where she was adjusting her mask, lifting it to show her raised eyebrows. "What would you say to a minor set change?"

– V –

"You guys were so great!" Marinette laughed as they stumbled into the hotel room. She spun on her heels, twirling in a little dance. He chuckled and closed the door behind him, smiling at her antics. "The crowd loved you! And that _song!_ Luka, it was beautiful! I hadn't realized you'd finished it!"

"…you recognized it?" he asked, and she laughed at the surprised look on his face.

"It was the one you played the first time we met, right?" she asked. She came over and held his hands, smiling up at him. "The one you said was in my heart. It's the same one you play all the time when we're hanging out. I hadn't thought you had finished it yet."

"I wasn't the one who had to finish it," he said with a shrug. At her confused look, he smiled. "It's your song, Mari. It's still not technically finished, but…the more I've gotten to know you, the better I've learned the song. The more you let me in, the more I hear. I think there's still more you have to show me, but…I wanted you to hear what I know so far. I needed you to hear that."

"Luka…" she whispered, eyes wide. He reached up and laid a hand against her cheek, his thumb brushing under her eye.

"Mari, the first night we got here…we were both so tired, but you said something," he said. He looked nervous again. She knew she was. She swallowed as he searched her face, as he pulled the edge of his lower lip between his teeth. Her heart did a summersault, and she reached up to lay her hand over his. "And I'm hoping you meant it, because tonight's going to really suck if you didn't."

"What…?" she asked, frowning, but he shook his head.

"Mari, this weekend has been _torture_. Falling asleep next to you, waking up beside you, and knowing the whole time that we're just…" he said. Her eyes widened, and he chuckled ruefully. "Damn it. I'm really messing this up, aren't I?"

"Luka, are you trying to tell me you don't like sharing a bed with me?" she asked, smiling slightly. "What, do I snore? Because you hum in your sleep, and that is _infinitely_ more distracting."

He laughed and leaned forward, resting his forehead on hers. She smiled and rested her hands on his chest, playing with the pick he wore on a cord around his neck. His other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close.

"Marinette, I'm trying to tell you that I _love_ sharing a bed with you," he said. "Snoring and all. Almost as much as I love you."

"You…?" she gasped, and he smiled as he nodded.

"And if this weekend's been hell it's only because I've had to wake up with you in my arms and _not_ tell you that. And I'm not really sorry, Mari, but I don't think I can do this – do us – anymore without telling you that I love you," he said. He continued to rub his thumb against her cheek, and she bit back the smile that was threatening to split her face. "The first night, you said you loved me, too, and I was kinda hoping you did mean it? Because I would really like to kiss you now, and maybe again later, and probably again after that. I would really like to kiss you a lot, actually, if you'll let me."

"You…" she started, but then she collapsed against him, uncontrollable laughter bubbling out like joy through her lips. His hand slipped to the back of her head, his fingers running through her hair, and she continued giggling against him. "We're both idiots. We're idiots!"

"Well, to be fair, you were in love with someone else," he said with a shrug, and she snorted as she slapped his chest.

"That was over a long time ago and you know it," she huffed.

"Mari, I love you," he said again, firmly, "but I didn't want to be a rebound. I didn't want to be a second choice. Maybe I'm selfish, but I want all of you. It only seems fair, since I want to give you all of me."

"I don't even know if I was ever really in love with Adrien, Luka," she said. Her laughter had died off at his words, and she frowned up at him. "Right now? This feeling? I'm so happy. I'm so, so happy. I was never really happy when I thought I loved Adrien. Loving Adrien was only ever painful and confusing and _hurt_, and I don't think that's what love's supposed to actually be like."

He smiled at her, and she bit her lip as she watched his eyes. He seemed content to just stand there holding her, gazing at her with that relaxed smile on his face. She thought she'd be fine with that, too.

"I love _you_, though," she said. She smiled shyly up at him. "I have for a while – longer than I really knew. I think I was falling in love with you even when I thought I loved Adrien. And I knew you used to think you loved me, but you never said anything again after you were akumatized, so…I guess I thought you had moved on. So I never said anything, either."

"You're right," he chuckled, kissing the tip of her nose, "we're idiots."

They laughed again, and after a moment she grinned up at him.

"Hey, Luka?" she asked. He hummed in response, and her cheeks tinted pink. "…can you kiss me now?"

– V –

Later, Marinette had crawled half on top of Luka, her head resting over his heart as they watched some stupid sitcom on the television. Every now and then he'd bend down, peppering the top of her head with kisses, and she'd smile as she'd hug him closer. His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tight, and his other hand held hers, rubbing comforting circles against her skin.

"You know…" he started, voice drowsy and eyes half-open. She looked up at him, and he smiled as he craned his neck for another kiss. "Waking up with you in my arms has been nice, but I can definitely get used to falling asleep that way, too."

She snorted at that.

"You did last night," she said. He blinked at her, and she rolled her eyes. "You were out in like fifteen minutes, and the next thing I knew I was hyperventilating because you had wrapped around me like some kind of snake –"

He raised an eyebrow at that but refrained from commenting (after all, as far as he knew, _she_ didn't know he was Viperion (or at least she didn't know he knew that she knew)).

"– so you definitely fell asleep holding me," she said, and he shrugged.

"I was asleep by that point," he said. "Doesn't count. This is better."

"Dork," she laughed.

"Dork lover," he murmured back, and she smiled before laying her head back against his heart.

In the end, as his breathing evened out and he drifted off to sleep, she had to admit he was right: waking up in his arms was nice, but falling asleep there was better.

– V –

They were both awake by the time Juleka banged on the door Sunday morning. Marinette was still in the shower, so Luka answered the door.

"Hey," Juleka said, "you guys almost ready? Wanted to get on the road before noon."

"Mari's just getting a shower," he said. "We're already packed."

Juleka nodded and turned to go, but he reached out to grab her hand.

"Hey, Jules…" he said. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Look, about this weekend…I know I wasn't the nicest person about the whole room situation, but…"

"She kissed you, didn't she?" Juleka asked, and he froze as his eyes went wide.

"How did you…?" he asked, but she just smirked.

"I have my ways," she said. "Told you you'd be thanking me. Also…"

She moved past him into the room and over to the empty bookcase they hadn't really paid much attention to all weekend. She slammed her fist against the end, and the bookcase fell forward with a _thwump_. A murphy bed was revealed on its back. Luka felt his jaw go slack.

"I totally booked you a double," she said with a self-satisfied little smirk. "You're welcome."

"Jules…" he laughed, shaking his head, "…I am so going to kill you."


End file.
